Winners of the 2nd Annual EPIC Awards Celebration were announced May 28 at SSP’s 48th Annual Meeting

The Society for Scholarly Publishing is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 Excellence in Publishing, Information Technology, & Communications (EPIC) Awards. Now in its second year, the EPIC Awards highlight the remarkable achievements of individuals and teams who are advancing scholarly publishing through creativity, collaboration, and cutting-edge innovation.

Finalists were selected across five top-level categories, each with multiple subcategories, to recognize the diverse ways organizations and individuals are pushing the boundaries of scholarly communication. Winners were revealed during the highly anticipated EPIC Awards Ceremony on May 28 in Chula Vista as part of SSP’s 48th Annual Meeting. Without further ado, the winners are:

Publications Winners

Honoring exceptional journals, books, magazines, reports, and short-form content formats. 

• Excellence in Short Form Content
  • Silver • Wolters Kluwer Health: ASA Monitor Today
  • Gold • Springer Nature: Partner Community Newsletter
• Excellence in Magazines
  • Silver • Wolters Kluwer Health: Neurology Today
  • Gold • Wolters Kluwer Health: Brain & Life
• Excellence in Reports
  • Silver • Wiley: ExplanAItions 2025: The Evolution of AI in Research
  • Gold • Frontiers: Unlocking AI potential: Advancing integrity, quality, and equity in scholarly publishing through responsible use of AI
• Excellence in Student Journals – Research
  • Silver • Michigan Journal of Medicine: Michigan Journal of Medicine, Vol 8
  • Gold • Challenger Research Journal at UC San Diego: Challenger Research Journal
• Excellence in Student Journals – Literary
  • Silver • James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University: Engage: A Community Zine
  • Gold • University of Connecticut: UConn Literary Magazine: Long River Review
• Excellence in Journals
  • Silver • American Society for Nondestructive Testing: Materials Evaluation Technical Focus Bioinspired NDT Issue
  • Gold • Cambridge University Press: Public Humanities

Media Winners

Showcasing original multimedia projects that promote or disseminate scholarly content.

• Excellence in Video / Film
  • Silver • CACTUS: Voices of Discovery: AGU Author Video Series
  • Gold • Wiley: Chats: Tackling critical topics in scholarly publishing
• Excellence in Podcast
  • Silver • Wolters Kluwer Health: Podcast: OncTimes Talk
  • Gold • American Veterinary Medical Association: Veterinary Vertex Podcast
• Excellence in Narrative / Multidisciplinary Digital Projects
  • Silver • Frontiers: Guardians of Science: unveiling the human force behind research integrity
  • Gold • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933-1945 hosted on Project MUSE
• Excellence in Data Visualization
  • Gold • FigureTwo: FigureTwo Preview

Marketing Winners

Recognizing outstanding branding, social media engagement, and other promotional efforts.

• Excellence in Branding
  • Silver • Wiley: John Wiley & Sons 2025 Rebrand
  • Gold • Oxford University Press: Oxford Law Pro
• Excellence in Campaigns
  • Silver • Cambridge University Press: Publishing futures: working together to deliver radical change in academic publishing
  • Gold • American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery: The Talking Point
• Excellence in Student Publication Campaign
  • Silver • George Washington University: GWU Journal of Ethics in Publishing
• Excellence in Social Presence
  • Silver • Wiley: Establishing Wiley as a Strategic Leader in AI through Frankfurt Book Fair 2025
  • Gold • AAAS: Science Magazine TikTok

Tools and Products Winners

Celebrating technological innovations across the publishing lifecycle.

• Excellence in Author Tools
  • Silver • Integra: EditorialPilot
  • Gold • CACTUS: SmartScreen, by Paperpal Preflight
• Excellence in Submission System Features
  • Silver • Wiley: Research Exchange Editor-Driven Referral (EDR) 
  • Gold • Silverchair: ScholarOne Gateway
• Excellence in Integrity Tools
  • Silver • ReviewerZero AI: ReviewerZero AI
  • Gold • National Information Standards Organization: The Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CREC) Recommended Practice
• Excellence in Hosting Platform Features
  • Silver • American Society of Civil Engineers: ASCE AMPLIFY
  • Gold • Silverchair: Oxford Law Pro
• Excellence in Other Tools And Products
  • Silver • KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.: KGL AI Alt Text Generation Tool
  • Gold • ChronosHub: ACS Publishing Center, Powered by ChronosHub

Initiatives Winners

Highlighting impactful programs advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility efforts, and educational initiatives.

• Excellence in Publishing Education And Training Initiatives
  • Silver • Silverchair: ScholarOne Summit & Community Engagement Initiatives
  • Gold • Sage: How to Do Research and Get Published
• Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, Or Accessibility Initiatives
  • Silver • Integra: Women at Integra: Growth and Success (WiNGS): Advancing DEIA
  • Gold • American Geophysical Union: Community Science Exchange: A New Home For Participatory Science Research

“We are thrilled to see so much of the creative and innovative work being done in our industry enjoy public recognition as part of the second annual EPIC Awards Celebration, said EPIC Award committee chairs Lisa Cunningham and Emma Hennessey. “Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who submitted their work.” Learn more about each entry in the EPIC Awards gallery.

SSP extends its appreciation to everyone who submitted entries for this year’s EPIC Awards. We received over 98 entries, and the quality of submissions across all categories was impressive, reflecting the innovation and dedication present throughout the scholarly publishing community. While we can only recognize a limited number of finalists, each submission contributed valuable perspectives on advancing scholarly communication. We invite the community to submit entries for the 2027 EPIC Awards in late 2026.