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Info on changes at PPR & Nous?

In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:

Anyone knows about the editorial changes at PPR and/or Nous? They recently shifted their November opening date early to August (it’s on their submission portal). In the meantime they also seem to have been overwhelmed by backlogs and papers awaiting decisions. A data point at the APA Journal Survey listed a 3.5-month review time for a desk-rejection, with a comment saying that they are “exceptionally busy.” I myself have paper under review for 4+ months with them; when I inquired about its status I was told that they “are struggling with a large backlog owed to increases in the volume and quality of our submissions stream,” and that they “have increased our editorial staff by 50%,” though from their website they don’t seem to have more editors than they usually do. Can anyone, perhaps recent PPR/Nous submittors, or anyone in the know, illuminate what’s going on at these places?

It’s great to hear that both journals are opening for submissions earlier this year, as well as increasing their editorial staff. Do readers have any other helpful insights?

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11 responses to “Info on changes at PPR & Nous?”

  1. Anonymous

    Does anyone know if this will mean that they’ll also close the portal earlier? From what I’ve heard, the portal closing is partially based on reaching a certain threshold of submissions, which will now presumably happen earlier.
    As another data point, I had a desk rejection from PPR after 8.5 months!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    I’d love info on this too. My paper has been with them for 5 months. I’ve sent two status update requests, and haven’t received a response.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    Sounds like Philosophy needs a few new journals to open up!

    Reply
  4. Sara Saborido

    We are very unhappy and regretful!

    We are struggling with a large backlog owed to increases in the volume and quality of our submissions streams.

    We have increased our editorial staff by 50% at each journal and we expect a gradual solution now, over weeks, not months.

    We will reopen on August 15 this year, rather than November 15, as has been the case for well over a decade. And we expect to be able to avoid any regular closures going forward indefinitely.

    With apologies for the long delays,

    Sara Saborido
    PPR and Nous Administrator

    Reply
    1. Anonymous

      Hi Sara,
      Thank you for posting here and filling us in! Are you at liberty to say whether the submission portal will still close around the same time in March or so?

      Reply
      1. Anonymous

        It seems that the answer is no: “we expect to be able to avoid any regular closures going forward indefinitely.” This seems like a great change!

    2. Anonymous

      Thanks, Sara! I’d like to ask a question about the most recent reply (8/14) to this thread, if that’s ok. According to the website, the deadline (for both PPR and Nous) has been pushed to Sep 30 now. Is there a chance for it to be pushed again, say, to November? I have a manuscript that has been under review for about 5 months at one of those journals. When should I expect to hear about that submission?

      Reply
      1. Anonymous

        I’m also waiting to hear back about a paper (at PPR) that’s been under review for 5 months.

  5. Anonymous

    Waiting 4-6 months for a desk rejection from these journals strikes me as typical of their efficiency over the past decade or so.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    Looking at the PPR submission site today, it says that the journal will now pause submissions till 30 september. Could we get an answer as to whether this will be pushed back further? It doesn’t seem right to set a deadline that keeps getting pushed back. I was waiting till today to submit a manuscript and could have sent it elsewhere else if the original opening date is just going to be in November.

    Reply
  7. Sara Saborido

    Dear Authors,

    We are struggling with large backlogs owed to increases in the volume and quality of our submissions streams, both at Nous and at PPR. We have increased our editorial staff by 50% at both journals, and we are now making steady progress. But we still have large backlogs at both, which is why we still need more time to prepare for new submissions. We expect this to enable us to shorten the *average* lag times between submission and initial decision going forward. The present closures until September 30th are now firm and final. And we fully expect to avoid closures going forward at both journals in the coming years.

    We deeply regret the present troubles, and we should soon be in a position to do much better!

    Sara Saborido
    Nous and PPR Administrator

    Reply

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