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A brand-new open-access publisher has just appeared: Science and Education Publishing (SciEP). The publisher is launching with 85 new journals, the second large launch I’ve seen in a single week (OA Publishing London recently launched with 138 brand new journals).

This practice of starting a publisher with an excessive number of journals is called a “fleet startup.”

85 new journals all started at the same time.

One interesting thing about SciEP is that the company does not reveal where it is from. Their “Contact us” page does not give any hint of a location. The location element of their domain-name registration is covered by a proxy. [Update Nov. 29, 2012: The contact us page now lists this address: 10 Cheswold Blvd., #1D, Newark, De, 19713, United States, which is a small apartment].

Predatory publishers often hide their true location when they think it will be a turnoff to potential authors.

A “call for papers” spam email the company is sending out says “Science and Education Publishing, USA,” indicating — probably falsely — that the publisher is U.S.-based.

I looked at the publisher’s inept Facebook page, which is set up as a person (rather than an organization) under the name Giovanni Sciepub. Could it be from Italy?  

Poorly done Facebook page.

The spam email is signed “David Rain,” but this is a common name, and I cannot find anyone in the scholarly publishing industry with that name. A Google Scholar search on the name yields no usable clues. It’s probably a contrived name.

The email indicates that they are now accepting submissions, even though none of its journals has an editorial board yet — the editorial board pages are all blank. Submissions are free through the end of 2012 and they plan to release their first journal issues in February 2013.

Because of its lack of transparency and probably use of a fake name, I strongly recommend against serving on any of this publisher’s editorial boards and against submitting a manuscript to any of its journals.

Hat tip: Lynne Fox, Charlie Greenberg

Appendix: List of journals published by Science and Education Publishing: 

  1. American Journal of Public Health Research
  2. American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine
  3. American Journal of Pharmacological Sciences
  4. American Journal of Medicine Studies
  5. American Journal of Food and Nutrition
  6. American Journal of Epidemiology and Infectious Disease
  7. American Journal of Medical and Biological Research
  8. American Journal of Clinical Medicine Research
  9. American Journal of Nursing Research
  10. American Journal of Hypertension Research
  11. American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease Research
  12. American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
  13. American Journal of Cancer Prevention
  14. American Journal of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
  15. American Journal of Biomedical Research
  16. American Journal of Microbiological Research
  17. American Journal of Zoological Research
  18. American Journal of Applied Psychology
  19. American Journal of Educational Research
  20. American Journal of Rural Development
  21. American Journal of Modeling and Optimization
  22. American Journal of Numerical Analysis
  23. American Journal of Applied Mathematics and Statistics
  24. Applied Mathematics and Physics
  25. American Journal of Mathematical Analysis
  26. American Journal of Mechanical Engineering
  27. American Journal of Industrial Engineering
  28. American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture
  29. American Journal of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  30. Automatic Control and Information Sciences
  31. American Journal of Energy Research
  32. American Journal of Sensor Technology
  33. American Journal of Vehicle Design
  34. American Journal of Materials Science and Engineering
  35. American Journal of Nanomaterials
  36. American Journal of Materials Engineering and Technology
  37. American Journal of Mining and Metallurgy
  38. American Journal of Information Systems
  39. American Journal of Software Engineering
  40. American Journal of Systems and Software
  41. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences
  42. American Journal of Environmental Protection
  43. American Journal of Marine Science
  44. American Journal of Water Resources
  45. American Journal of Food Science and Technology
  46. Biomedicine and Biotechnology
  47. Biomedical Science and Engineering
  48. Chemical Engineering and Science
  49. International Journal of Clinical Nutrition
  50. International Journal of Physics
  51. Information Security and Computer Fraud
  52. Journal of Surgery
  53. Journal of Preventive Medicine
  54. Journal of Nutrition and Health
  55. Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment
  56. Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology
  57. Journal of Mathematical Sciences and Applications
  58. Journal of Ocean Research
  59. Journal of Optoelectronics Engineering
  60. Journal of Embedded Systems
  61. Journal of Automation and Control
  62. Journal of Instrumentation Technology
  63. Journal of Materials Physics and Chemistry
  64. Journal of Business and Management Sciences
  65. Journal of Finance and Accounting
  66. Journal of Finance and Economics
  67. Journal of Computer Sciences and Applications
  68. Journal of Computer Networks
  69. Journal of Geosciences and Geomatics
  70. Journal of Atmospheric Pollution
  71. Journal of Aquatic Science
  72. Journal of Food and Nutrition Research
  73. Journal of Food Security
  74. Materials Science and Metallurgy Engineering
  75. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research
  76. Physics and Materials Chemistry
  77. Research in Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
  78. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
  79. Research in Plant Sciences
  80. World Journal Control Science and Engineering
  81. Wireless and Mobile Technologies
  82. World Journal of Analytical Chemistry
  83. World Journal of Organic Chemistry
  84. World Journal of Environmental Engineering
  85. World Journal of Agricultural Research