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A philosopher elsewhere was wondering if there are journals that typically will consider and publish papers longer than, e.g., 12K words. Maybe there is a list somewhere? Otherwise, please post names of journals that are open to longer papers.
The Journal of Modern Philosophy has no word limit.
In ancient philosophy, both Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy and Phronesis have no word limits, and I believe Ancient Philosophy doesn't either. Apeiron doesn't have a strict word limit, but you generally have to justify over approx. 10k words
There is no length limit at Pacific Philosophical Quarterly.
The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy has no word limit.
In the history of philosophy, JHP's maximum word count is 14k. Also, I don't believe Archiv fur Geschichte der Philosophie has a word limit.
A few very good generalist journals that don’t (I think) have word limits are Philosophers’ Imprint, Ergo, Synthese, Nous, and PPR. Philosophical Studies cites 10K as an ordinary maximum length but says they’ll consider longer papers in special circumstances. Outside the top tier, the Journal of Philosophical Research has always published very long papers.
The following, I believe, have no set word limit or at least no stated word limit: Inquiry, Theoria, Dialectica, Analytic Philosophy, and Philosophical Forum.
AJP has an absolute limit of 15k, but a norm max of 8k. So a 10k paper can easily be considered by us. Doing o is not a problem of principle for us, and we receive many papers of that length. However, we do apply an increasingly higher standard as a paper lengthens beyond that norm max: all else being equal, a 10k paper needs to be better than an 8k one, even to receive an R&R-invitation. Still, many a 10k paper is really an 8k paper wearing an extra — and easily shed — layer or two. Hence, we might stay with an exceptionally good 10k paper while also asking for its next incarnation to be shorter (and usually offering some guidance as to how that might be achieved). (I say all of this as the AJP Editor, btw.)
Idealistic Studies will accept longer articles of high quality. I would recommend, though, that the topic be limited to German idealism proper, since that is the editor's specialty (and she ultimately makes the determination about longer papers). If you have a topic outside of that field, then just email her before hand. She is responsive.
I believe Nous and PPR have length-limits of 15k words. I have seen at least one very long paper in Analytic Philosophy, i.e. 44+ pages.
The Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy doesn't have a word limit. (But referees and editors still prefer brevity!)
The Philosophical Review has no word limit.
While Imprint doesn't technically have a word limit, I've received a rejection with an editorial comment along the lines of "While there may be a puzzle here, this paper is too long for the puzzle it covers" – so I think it's fair to say that the editors do consider the length of the paper (at least relative to the paper's topic) when deciding whether to send it for review, despite not having an official word limit.
I think Samuel Elgin's comment raises a question not addressed by listing journals which 'technically' have no word limit: which journals are *really* open to longer papers? Or: which journals will not take length of more than e.g. 12k to count *almost* decisively against a paper?
History and Theory has no formal length limit.
I assume that *all* journals have a substance-per-page limit. The question, I take it, is about absolute rather than content-relative limits. Philosophers' Imprint has no absolute limit. For example, in 2019 we published a paper that ran to 26,000 words.
Just to keep the reference concrete and give an idea of what topic merits the longer-than-normal treatment, I believe David Velleman refers to this paper:
Fenton-Glynn, Luke (2019). Imprecise Chance and the Best System Analysis. Philosophers' Imprint 19.
Among the pedagogical journals, Teaching Philosophy has no word limit (though Teaching Ethics requires that submissions be between 2400 and 8000 words in length).
The Owl of Minerva (which is principally a Hegel/German Idealism journal) accepts articles of up to 25,000 words(!)
This is a fascinating thread.
Theoretical Medicine & Bioethics allows 12-15k words.
"The Owl of Minerva (which is principally a Hegel/German Idealism journal) accepts articles of up to 25,000 words(!)"
But these must be spread over at least four sentences.
Phronesis publishes Long papers:
https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&level=all&q_0=Long&source=%2Fjournals%2Fphro%2Fphro-overview.xml
Once you reach 20,000 words, you're over the minimum word count for a short book in the Routledge Focus series.
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