About

The Council of Editors of Learned Journals, an Allied Organization of the Modern Language Association, is an organization of editors of scholarly journals in all disciplines. As the major national organization in the United States dedicated to supporting academic journal publishing, our membership represents an invaluable collective wellhead of editorial wisdom and experience. Making this expertise available to new and veteran editors alike for discussing common editorial concerns and sharing advice is one of our major purposes.

CELJ, through its forums page and listserv, provides a space for discussion of issues related to journal publication. At our annual national meeting at the MLA Convention, CELJ serves to publicize member journals through sponsored sessions and special events designed to tackle current issues in journal publishing from both editor and author viewpoints. The annual CELJ Awards Competition recognizes outstanding achievement in editorial work in scholarly journal publication.

An executive committee consists of a president, vice-president, secretary, and mentoring coordinator leads CELJ, along with an executive director at an institutional home. Membership is open to all editors and alumni editors involved in scholarly publication in the U.S. and internationally upon payment of annual dues.

Membership includes eligibility for the annual awards competition; access to our electronic discussion forums and listserv with the expertise of hundreds of editors; a profile for your journal on the CELJ website; special advertising rates in the Times Literary Supplement’s scholarly journals issue, a chance to serve as an advisor for “Chat with an Editor” at the MLA; access to CELJ’s mediation service, and participation in member-only webinars throughout the year.

Mission

The mission of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) is to enable conversations, collaborations, and communication around scholarly journal editing and to mentor editors and authors by creating an inclusive scholarly communications landscape.

Values

CELJ’s values include

• Professionalism: We seek to improve the quality of scholarly journal publishing through professional development, mentoring, and shared best practices.
• Inclusivity: We recognize the systemic racism and secrecy embedded in the history of scholarly academic publishing, which runs counter to our desires to recognize the inherent worth of every possible author and editor. We therefore strive to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our professional activities.
• Collaboration: We enhance our members’ publishing efforts and support other journals and editors in developing explicit practices that invite discussion, knowledge sharing, and recognition of innovation in scholarly publishing.