PeerJ (https://peerj.com), a new journal publisher founded on the principles of affordability, innovation, and open access, published its first 30 peerreviewed articles on 12 February 2013, premiering several innovative features. Launched by Jason Hoyt (formerly at Mendeley and Stanford University) and Peter Binfield (formerly at PLOS ONE), PeerJ was shaped from the premise that “if society can set a goal to sequence a human genome for just $99, then why shouldn’t academics be given the opportunity to openly publish their research for a similar amount?”

PeerJ aims to establish a new model for the publication of all well-reported, scientifically sound research in the biological and medical sciences. The journal has an economical and efficient peer-review and publication system and has assembled an editorial board of 800 academics, including an advisory board of 20. Articles undergo rigorous peer review; publication decisions are made on scientific validity rather than on perceived impact. PeerJ encourages “open” peer review (reviewers are encouraged to provide their names; authors can then reproduce the peer-review history alongside their published articles). The journal uses a Creative Commons License; all articles are free for readers to read, distribute, or reuse provided authors are properly attributed.

PeerJ is unique in that it operates a “membership model”: Authors become lifetime members for a single payment, which can be as low as $99, giving them the ability to freely publish their articles thereafter. As a result, publication costs for authors are significantly lower than for similar OA publications.

PETER BINFIELD is co-founder and publisher of PeerJ.