Since 1993 the Emerald Literati Awards have celebrated and rewarded the outstanding contributions of authors and reviewers, not only to our journals and books, but to the body of knowledge itself.
The 2024 awards continue the tradition, and it brings us great pride to acknowledge the efforts of individuals worldwide. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the deserving winners!
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The aim of the awards
- Recognise and motivate exceptional research that has a meaningful impact.
- Promote global awareness of diverse voices and their valuable contributions to knowledge.
- Strengthening the impact of winning research through our Literati Lookback.
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What is outstanding research?
We define outstanding research by the quality, impact and meaningful contributions to various fields of study. It represents innovative approaches, valuable insights and addresses significant questions with rigorous arguments.
Whether it’s an influential paper with an ‘x-factor’ or groundbreaking experiment, outstanding research leaves a mark in academia and society.
Award categories
All the categories celebrate the commitment to outstanding research that makes a difference. Whether you are an author, reviewer or a community of editors that are developing research that impacts society and promotes action on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we want to hear your story. Take a look at our award categories below.
Outstanding paper
This award has been the backbone of the Emerald Literati Awards for Excellence. The winners are chosen by a journal editorial team giving the winning authors confidence in knowing that their paper was one of the most impressive pieces of work from the previous year.
The judging process
The editor and Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) of each journal is invited to select a winner of the ‘Outstanding Paper Award' from the previous year’s volume.
Award-winning criteria
- Research creates impact and generates real change beyond academia
- Contribution of something new to the body of knowledge either in terms of approach or subject matter
- Excellent structure and presentation
- Well-written
- Rigour in terms of argument or analysis
- Relevance – to practice and further research, in most cases
- Up-to-date – demonstrating that the latest/key works in the field have been cited
Ultimately, an outstanding paper should have the ‘x-factor’ – something that makes it stand out from the rest.
Outstanding reviewer
This Award recognises the importance of reviewers to the scholarly publishing process. Academics rely on peer review to verify their research and add value to it through critical engagement before publication. Reviewers are specialists in a given area of research and are well placed to assess the soundness of an author’s work and share their own knowledge.
The judging process
The editor and Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) of each journal select a winner of the ‘Outstanding Reviewer Award’ from the previous year’s volume.
Award-winning criteria
- Timeliness of the reviews
- Quality of the reviews
- The depth of reviews and the amount of detail
Outstanding author contribution
This award rewards authors who have contributed something new or of significant value to the body of knowledge, either in terms of approach or subject matter.
The judging process
The chapter is to be nominated by the Series Editor and Volume Editor(s) with input from Editorial Board.
Award-winning criteria
Chapters should provide or demonstrate:
- Research creates impact and generates real change beyond academia
- Contribution of something new to the body of knowledge either in terms of approach or subject matter
- Excellent structure and presentation and well-written text
- Rigour in terms of argument or analysis
- Relevance – to practice and further research, in most cases
- Up-to-date – demonstrating that the latest/key works in the field have been cited
- A work which is clearly within the editorial scope and remit of the book series.
An outstanding chapter should be exceptional and stands out from the rest.
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Meet our 2024 Literati Awards winners
To recognise all the winners and highly commended entries, each of their stories are celebrated in our Emerald Publishing Facebook page. Be sure to check it out to learn more about the winners and their commitment to making a significant difference to our communities, societies, and the world at large.
Criteria
Criteria for outstanding papers:
- Contribution of something new to the body of knowledge either in terms of approach or subject matter
- Research has reach and influence within and outside of academia
- Research creates, or has the potential to create, impact and generate real change beyond academia
- Research is well-written with excellent structure and presentation
Criteria for outstanding reviewers:
- Timeliness of the reviews
- Quality of the reviews
- The depth of reviews and the amount of detail
Submitting your winners
We require the following information:
- Your journal name
- The URL for the outstanding paper
- Outstanding reviewers’ name, email address and affiliation
Opening/closing date and time
Submissions are open now, please complete your selection by the 19th of July.
The winner announcements will be in August.
Important information
- We require one outstanding paper and three outstanding reviewers for each publication.
- The paper needs to have been published in an issue in 2023, and not just published in EarlyCite.
Can I nominate a paper from this year?
Nominations need to be from the previous year. You can find more information on the criteria.
What are the dates that meet the eligibility criteria?
Every year we give the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) a timescale for when nominations need to be sent, we will send this by email from May onwards.
Can an editor nominate their own research piece?
Unfortunately, we cannot accept nominations where the winning paper was written by the Editor of the journal. Nominations must come from the Editor or Editorial Board members.
Can I nominate an article that wasn’t published in the last year?
Articles and books series need to have been published the previous year from the Literati Awards. The nominated work does not need to have been written in the previous year but to have been published in an issue of the previous year. Find out more on the criteria.
I’m an Editor for more than one Emerald journal. Can I submit more than one nomination?
Yes, when your Commissioning Editor provides the link to our survey for nominations, please be sure to fill the survey out for the different journals you work on.
How many reviewers can I nominate?
We encourage Editors to nominate three reviewers to help celebrate all their hard work, however, you can nominate up to three, so if you’d like to nominate less than this, you can.
I’m an author, how can I participate?
The editor and the Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) of each journal selects one or several winners for the ‘Outstanding Reviewer Award’. Please find more information here.
Please drop us a line
If you're interested in finding out more about the awards process, are looking to submit and have a query, or have feedback or a suggestion, please get in touch with us via this form.
We're always looking to improve the awards for authors and editors and would love to hear from you.