Peer Review

All GAIA volumes are peer reviewed according to standards set by the interdisciplinary GAIA Editorial Board, which itself is approved by the Editorial Board of the University of California Press. As such, GAIA's peer review standards and procedures are similar to those of UC Press and other leading university presses. Because we are very small and specialized, however, we are frequently able to make decisions more quickly than traditional university presses.

Process

The Publications Director must approve a project for peer review before it can be sent to external readers. In order to be approved for publication, a project must have a minimum of two external reviews unequivocally recommending the project for publication. GAIA reserves the right to seek additional reviews on the entire manuscript or portions thereof. If a project receives two or more positive reviews, the Publications Director presents the project for consideration by the GAIA Editorial Board at one of its periodic meetings. To be published, a work must be approved by majority vote of the Editorial Board.

Standards

GAIA reviewers are asked to evaluate projects according to the same standards they would use for a leading university press, with an emphasis on originality, coherence, analytic sophistication, and clarity and elegance of expression. More details are given in the Questions for Reviewers. Reviewers' comments are conveyed to the author, but reviewers remain anonymous unless they grant the Publications Director permission to reveal their identities in writing.