Journal profile · LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM
Journal of Literary Theory
ISSN 1862-5290 · eISSN 1862-8990
Journal of Literary Theory: CAS Zone 2 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; 25 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Literary Theory is in Zone 2 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are German Literature and Culture Studies, Narrative Theory and Analysis and Language, Metaphor, and Cognition, together about 33% of its articles. Its main subfields are Literature and Literary Theory. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
JLT and JLTonline are dedicated to literary theory. The journal and website are cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary and bring together international debates on literary theory. The spectrum of articles in JLT and JLTonline ranges from essays on fundamental problems in literary studies to application-orientated studies with a systematic epistemological interest.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- German Literature and Culture StudiesArts and Humanities11.6%
- Narrative Theory and AnalysisArts and Humanities11.3%
- Language, Metaphor, and CognitionPsychology10.2%
- Linguistic research and analysisArts and Humanities9.6%
- Historical, Literary, and Cultural StudiesArts and Humanities6.5%
- Law and Political ScienceSocial Sciences4.2%
- Literature and Cultural MemoryArts and Humanities4%
- Digital Humanities and ScholarshipArts and Humanities3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Literary Theory & Criticism | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Literary Theory & Criticism | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCILetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 25OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 64OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 20LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,007Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 379 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18 | 17 | 0 |
| 2025 | 25 | 23 | 44 |
| 2024 | 13 | 12 | 15 |
| 2023 | 15 | 15 | 23 |
| 2022 | 19 | 19 | 75 |
| 2021 | 7 | 4 | 79 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Peer review
- Double-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | EUR 0 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted2
- conference reportsReviews of publications and reports on conferences of interest to literary theory are published regularly and in open access in the reviews and conference repor…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews of publications and reports on conferences of interest to literary theory are published regularly and in open access in the reviews and conference repor…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- License & copyright
Publishing rights transfer agreement with Walter de Gruyter GmbH applies from acceptance. Model summary
Please note that the agreement on the transfer of publishing rights of Walter de Gruyter GmbH applies from the time the article is accepted.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
Open access for more recent issues of the journal via the JLTonline website. Model summary
The more recent issues of the JLT are available in open access via this section.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymous peer review by the journal's scientific advisory board and external scholars. Model summary
Articles for the JLT are peer-reviewed anonymously by the journal's scientific advisory board and by external scholars.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- ISSN
- 1862-5290
- Electronic ISSN
- 1862-8990
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Literary Theory
What CAS zone is Journal of Literary Theory in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Literary Theory is in Zone 2 of Literature, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Literary Theory & Criticism. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
Which databases index Journal of Literary Theory?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Literary Theory is indexed in ESCI.
Is Journal of Literary Theory open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Literary Theory is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .