Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-Literature and Literary Theory
Ploughshares
ISSN 0048-4474 · eISSN 2162-0903 · Ploughshares
Ploughshares: CAS Zone 4 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); subscription journal; 182 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Ploughshares is published by Ploughshares and is in Zone 4 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Short Stories in Global Literature, Poetry Analysis and Criticism and American Literature and Culture, together about 43.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Literature and Literary Theory. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
PS is Ploughshares’ tribute to our literary histories; an addendum to our print issues. PS presents contemporary dialogues between today’s writers and Ploughshares‘ archive–love letters that revisit, remix, and reimagine our literary past, present, and future. Here you’ll find essays, interviews, recordings, and other multimedia ephemera in direct conversation with our current issue and 50+ year archive.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-Literature and Literary Theory
Editor-in-chief Jenny MolbergPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Short Stories in Global LiteratureArts and Humanities18.1%
- Poetry Analysis and CriticismArts and Humanities17%
- American Literature and CultureArts and Humanities8.5%
- Ecocriticism and Environmental LiteratureArts and Humanities6.9%
- Freedom of Expression and DefamationSocial Sciences6.2%
- Literature Analysis and CriticismMedicine6.1%
- Irish and British StudiesSocial Sciences5.4%
- Contemporary Literature and CriticismArts and Humanities3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Literary Reviews | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Literary Reviews | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Literary Reviews | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
AHCIScopusLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.1LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0LetPub ·
- h-index
- 6OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.02OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 11LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,218 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 95 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | 182 | 0 | 2 |
| 2024 | 122 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 | 131 | 0 | 6 |
| 2022 | 171 | 0 | 8 |
| 2021 | 149 | 0 | 8 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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 accepted3
- dialoguesDialogues (transcribed and recorded interviews/conversations)Length not stated
- ephemeraEphemera (multimodal supplements to Ploughshares’ archive such as photos, video recordings, artwork, letters)Length not stated
- essaysEssays (personal, critical, academic, creative)Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics
- Authorship
PS writers are paid $100 upon publication. Model summary
PS writers are paid $100 upon publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses Model summary
Ploughshares is a proud member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses.
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
- Ploughshares
- ISSN
- 0048-4474
- Electronic ISSN
- 2162-0903
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Ploughshares
What CAS zone is Ploughshares in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Ploughshares is in Zone 4 of Literature, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Literary Reviews. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
Which databases index Ploughshares?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Ploughshares is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is Ploughshares open access, and what is the APC?
Ploughshares is a subscription 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: .