Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-Literature and Literary Theory
Journal of World Literature
ISSN 2405-6472 · eISSN 2405-6480 · Brill
Journal of World Literature: CAS Zone 3 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2 (journal website); hybrid open access; 39 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of World Literature is published by Brill and is in Zone 3 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies, Translation Studies and Practices and Comparative and World Literature, together about 44.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Literature and Literary Theory. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of World Literature (JWL) aspires to bring together scholars interested in developing the concept of World Literature, and to provide the most suitable environment for contributions from all the world’s literary traditions. It creates a forum for re-visiting global literary heritages, discovering valuable works that have been undeservedly ignored, and introducing aspects of the transnational global dissemination of literature, with translation as a focus. The journal welcomes submissions that can concurrently imagine any literary tradition, in any language, moving beyond national frames to simultaneously discuss and develop the cosmopolitan threads of a variety of literary traditions. It also welcomes contributions from scholars of different research backgrounds working collaboratively as well as from group research projects interested in showcasing their findings, in order to meet the challenge of a wider and deeper discussion of literature’s networks.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-Literature and Literary Theory
Editor-in-chief David DamroschPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Postcolonial and Cultural Literary StudiesArts and Humanities20.5%
- Translation Studies and PracticesArts and Humanities15%
- Comparative and World LiteratureArts and Humanities9.2%
- Japanese History and CultureSocial Sciences6.6%
- Philippine History and CultureSocial Sciences5.3%
- European Cultural and National IdentitySocial Sciences4.3%
- Islamic Studies and HistorySocial Sciences3.6%
- Chinese history and philosophySocial Sciences3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Literature | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Literature | 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
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceERIH PLUSPublisher website
Other: ANVUR - Riviste Index, MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.14LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- h-index
- 15OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 25OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.19OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 31LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 376 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025 | 39 | 12 | 3 |
| 2024 | 37 | 9 | 17 |
| 2023 | 30 | 14 | 38 |
| 2022 | 38 | 21 | 38 |
| 2021 | 26 | 13 | 67 |
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
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 accepted1, with length limits
- reviewte. Download Author Instructions (PDF). Review Essays should be between 3,500–5,000 words in length and have a comparative focus on at least two relemain text ≤ 5,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Peer review
- AI use
AI-generated submissions not accepted; AI use must be disclosed in first footnote. Model summary
JWL does not accept AI-generated submissions (both written articles and bibliography). If you have used AI to check/improve your writing, you must disclose it in line with Brill's policy about authorship and disclosure in your first footnote.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymous external peer review for all articles, including special issues. Model summary
All articles published in Journal of World Literature undergo a double-anonymous external peer review process. This includes articles published in special issues.
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
- Publisher
- Brill
- ISSN
- 2405-6472
- Electronic ISSN
- 2405-6480
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of World Literature
What CAS zone is Journal of World Literature in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of World Literature is in Zone 3 of Literature, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Literature. 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.
What is the impact factor of Journal of World Literature?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 0.7, h-index 15.
Which databases index Journal of World Literature?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of World Literature is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and ERIH PLUS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of World Literature open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of World Literature is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
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: .