Journal profile · Multiple
Shakespeare
ISSN 1745-0918 · eISSN 1745-0926 · Taylor & Francis
Shakespeare: CAS Zone 3 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.5 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 151 days to acceptance (47 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 37% (journal website); 80 articles in 2025; indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Shakespeare is published by Taylor & Francis 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 Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism, Historical Art and Culture Studies and Theatre and Performance Studies, together about 53.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Literature and Literary Theory. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Shakespeare publishes articles drawn from the best international research on the most recent developments in Shakespearean criticism, historical and textual scholarship, and performance. The journal promotes the goal of the British Shakespeare Association to bridge the gap between literary and performance based criticism of Shakespeare, and provides an outlet for Shakespeare research undertaken to the very highest standards from around the world. Without privileging any particular critical approaches, methodologies, or theories, the journal welcomes all contributions that throw light upon Shakespeare, his works, and his world, in his time and through to the present day. In addition to publishing articles of original scholarship, the journal also offers an extensive range of performance reviews covering productions from around the globe, reviews of recent books, and a dedicated section for critical debates and state-of-the-field surveys. Each volume also contains special issues compiled by guest editors drawing together scholarship on a particular theme or topic. Proposals for such special issues are welcomed, and should be emailed to the permanent editors. Peer review policy All manuscripts are submitted via the publisher's electronic peer review system, ScholarOne, and are subject to initial appraisal by the team of permanent editors. If found suitable for further consideration, submissions are sent for double-anonymized peer review by at least two independent, anonymous expert referees.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 4 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary CriticismArts and Humanities37.3%
- Historical Art and Culture StudiesArts and Humanities8.9%
- Theatre and Performance StudiesArts and Humanities7.1%
- Irish and British StudiesSocial Sciences6.1%
- Literature: history, themes, analysisArts and Humanities5.7%
- Philippine History and CultureSocial Sciences5%
- Theater, Performance, and Music HistoryArts and Humanities3.2%
- Joseph Conrad and LiteratureArts and Humanities3.1%
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 | Theater | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Literature, British Isles | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Literature, British Isles | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Theater | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Literature Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Theater | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Literature, British Isles | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
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
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 0.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.13LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.13Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.34LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.34Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 23OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 60OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.12OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 7.69%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 50LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 92,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,527 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 69 | 15 | 1 |
| 2025 | 80 | 13 | 10 |
| 2024 | 56 | 10 | 14 |
| 2023 | 77 | 13 | 38 |
| 2022 | 44 | 11 | 39 |
| 2021 | 67 | 15 | 91 |
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 Crossref · to
151 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 87 days – 198 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (48 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 167 days
- Sample
- 47 articles with submission and acceptance dates (161 in the window); the latest was accepted on
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".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 37%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 52 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 20 daysPublisher website ·
- 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.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Shakespeare is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: submissions via ScholarOne, initial appraisal by permanent editors, then double-anonymized peer review by at least two independent, anonymous expert referees. Model summary
All manuscripts are submitted via the publisher's electronic peer review system, ScholarOne, and are subject to initial appraisal by the team of permanent editors. If found suitable for further consideration, submissions are sent for double-anonymized peer review by at least two independent, anonymous expert referees.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1745-0918
- Electronic ISSN
- 1745-0926
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 22, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Shakespeare
What CAS zone is Shakespeare in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Shakespeare is in Zone 3 of Literature, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Theater / Literature, British Isles. 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 Shakespeare?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.5 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 0.3, h-index 23.
How long does peer review take at Shakespeare?
Based on the dates recorded on 47 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 151 days (interquartile range 87–198 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 37%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Shakespeare based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Shakespeare?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Shakespeare is indexed in AHCI and Scopus.
Is Shakespeare open access, and what is the APC?
Shakespeare is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .