William SalterAoBP is committed to improving equity in academic publishing. It is the reason we are open access; it is the reason we are a champion of open science more broadly; and it is why so much of what we do as a journal is there to help early career researchers. Early career researchers often have not had the opportunities, experience and resources that have been available to more established researchers. To overcome this inequity, we assess papers on scientific rigour, not whether or not we deem them “exciting” enough for the journal. We practice double blind peer review to avoid any preconceptions about a study based on an author’s reputation or seniority. It’s why we continually strive to minimise our publication charges. AND it is why we are happy to launch a new opportunity for early career researchers to have their voices and ideas heard, The AoBP Awards for Emerging Voices in Botany and an accompanying Special Issue on Emerging Voices.
We invite and encourage students and researchers who completed their PhD less than five years ago to submit their manuscripts for publication in the Special Issue on Emerging Voices. Accepted manuscripts will be published for free (no article processing charge for the authors), and the author will become eligible for an AoBP Award for Emerging Voices in Botany. Manuscripts should provide a brief overview of current knowledge about an open question in the plant sciences (click here for more information on the broad scope of AoBP) and the author’s perspective on the best ways forward to resolving the question. We are particularly interested to see submission of adapted literature reviews or discussions from theses that highlight the author’s areas of expertise. As our Editor in Chief, Tom Buckley highlights, “There are often a lot of great thought and neat ideas that go into a thesis but then never see the light of day. This is a great opportunity to have your voice heard.”
All accepted manuscripts will be entered into a competition to win one of two Awards for Emerging Voices in Botany. One award will be given to a student, and one to a post-PhD researcher. Each winner will receive a cash prize of USD $2,500 and be profiled in the journal’s social media feeds and in Botany One. Submissions are due by the 1st October 2022.
For more information on the awards please visit https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/pages/emerging-voices-awards
If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Chief Editor Tom Buckley at buckley@aobplants.org
