Peer Review Week (PRW) 2026 runs September 14–18, and this year’s theme is “Peer Review Capacity: Volume, Speed, and Quality.” The theme was chosen by a global community poll, and it points at a problem a lot of authors and reviewers will recognize: submissions keep climbing, turnaround expectations keep tightening, and the reviewer pool hasn’t grown to match.

Columbia Libraries workshop during Peer Review Week

• Introduction to Scholarly Publishing
  • Wednesday September 16, 2026, 3:00 PM–4:00 PM
  • Online Event
  • What is peer review? What’s a DOI? Why does open access sometimes cost money? This presentation provides an overview of what researchers, including students, should weigh before they publish, and what to ask before signing a publishing agreement.
  • Columbia Affiliates only – register here

From the wider scholarly publishing community

Dozens of organizations host free sessions during Peer Review Week. Here are a few of our favorites — check each registration page for the exact time in your zone.

• Peer Review at Capacity: What Is the System Asking Too Much Of? (ACSE; The Asian Council of Science Editors)
  • Monday September 14, 2026
  • Online panel discussion
  • register here
• Building Capacity with AI Tools You Already Have: Practical Applications for Scholarly Publishing (Scholastica)
  • Wednesday September 16, 2026, 10:30 AM ET
  • Online Event
  • register here
• Office Hours: Reviewer Fatigue — What Is Actually Working? (International Society of Managing and Technical Editors)
  • Wednesday September 16, 2026
  • Online Event
  • register here
• How to Be a Peer Reviewer (Sage)
  • Thursday September 17, 2026
  • Online Event
  • register here
• Keeping Reviewers Engaged: Strategies for a Sustainable Future (Council of Science Editors)
  • Thursday September 17, 2026
  • Online panel discussion
  • register here
• The Race for Faster Peer Review: What Are We Optimizing For? (ACSE; The Asian Council of Science Editors)
  • Friday September 18, 2026
  • Online panel discussion
  • register here

The full slate, including blog posts, podcasts, and events in other time zones, is on the PRW 2026 Events & Activities page.

Keep going: publishing, APCs, and funded research this semester

Peer Review Week is one week, but the questions it raises come up all year. If the sessions above are useful to you, these Libraries workshops later in the fall cover the same territory in more depth – publishing agreements, copyright, funder mandates, and how to publish open access without paying an APC. All are online and free to Columbia affiliates.

• Fundamentals of Copyright
  • Monday September 21, 2026, 3:00 PM–4:00 PM
  • Online Event
  • Define copyright, apply the Fair Use exception, and work through what it all means for your teaching, research, and authorship.
  • Columbia Affiliates only – register here
• Navigating the Publishing Process as a Federally Funded Author
  • Thursday September 24, 2026, 3:00 PM–4:00 PM — or Thursday October 22, 2026, 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
  • Online Event
  • With the 12-month embargo gone for NIH-funded articles accepted on or after July 1, 2025, what does compliance actually require? Speakers from Sponsored Projects Administration and the Libraries cover which publication costs are allowable, how to retain your rights, and how to use Columbia’s Read & Publish agreements so APCs don’t come out of your grant.
  • Columbia Affiliates only – register for September 24 or October 22
• Copyright & Generative AI
  • Wednesday September 30, 2026, 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
  • Online Event
  • What is copyrightable when you use a generative AI tool? What should you consider before publishing work you used one on? A closer look at a fast-moving area of law.
  • Columbia Affiliates only – register here
• How to Publish Open Access without Article Processing Charges (APCs)
  • Monday October 26, 2026, 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
  • Online Event
  • Use Columbia’s OA publishing agreements, publish in a Libraries journal, find reputable OA venues in your field, and deposit in Academic Commons — all without paying an APC.
  • Columbia Affiliates only – register here
• Introduction to Scholarly Publishing (repeat session)
  • Wednesday November 11, 2026, 2:00 PM–3:00 PM
  • Online Event
  • Can’t make the September 16 session? Same workshop, later in the term.
  • Columbia Affiliates only – register here

What is Peer Review Week?

Peer Review Week is an annual, community-led celebration of the part peer review plays in keeping research trustworthy. It brings together researchers, editors, reviewers, publishers, libraries, and scholarly societies around a single shared idea: that good peer review, in whatever form it takes, is what makes scholarly communication work. Each September the week fills with webinars, panels, interviews, blog posts, and social media conversation. 2026 marks the twelfth edition.

Learn more about this year’s theme, Peer Review Capacity: Volume, Speed, and Quality, by reading the press release or visiting the PRW website.