We invite applications for the 2026 James E. Cloern Early Career Publication Honor which supports the publication of open-access articles in ASLO journals authored by students and early careerresearchers in need. The Honor was conceived and is managed by ASLO’s Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellows. It supports publication of innovative research in the aquatic sciences by early careerresearchers who have no funding or prospects for securing funding to pay the cost of open-access publication. The honor covers the cost of the article publication, a friendly pre-submission review, and publicity of the published article via ASLO’s communication channels.

Applications are due July 10, 2026. Honorees will be updated on the selection results in September 2026.

A Q+A webinar about the Early Career Publication Honor was held via Zoom on Tuesday June 2nd at 14:00 GMT (10:00 AM EDT). To view the recording, click here. If you have additional questions, you can email the Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellows at [email protected].

Honor details:
Twelve waivers are available for papers submitted by June 2027. Honorees will receive:

• A waiver to the Gold Open Access Article Publication Charges (APC) for an article accepted for publication in Limnology & Oceanography, Limnology & Oceanography: Methods, or Limnology & Oceanography Letters.
• Support from a Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellow with a friendly pre-submission manuscript review and guidance in navigating the submission process.
• Publicity of accepted papers via ASLO social media.
• Note: The honor does not guarantee publication in L&O, L&O Methods, or L&O Letters. All honored manuscripts will be subject to full peer review and editorial consideration.

Eligibility: This Honor targets students or postgraduates who completed their highest degree after July 2016 (exemptions can be granted for career interruptions). Proposed manuscripts must fit the scope of L&O Letters, L&O Methods, and/or L&O and have the high scientific merit of papers published in ASLO journals. Eligible applicants must:

• Be ASLO members or join before applying. Membership is free for students and early careerprofessionals from underdeveloped or developing countries, and costs $30 or $50 for students or early career professionals from developed countries, respectively (join here).
• Have a registered ORCID ID (register here).
• Be lead author of the proposed manuscript. Joint first authorship will be considered if shared between two early career researchers. Applicant details for the second first author must be included in the application form.
• Be the corresponding author for the manuscript. The applicant may have a second corresponding author from any career stage (e.g., their supervisor). The applicant must be the one who is in contact with the journal editor during the formal peer review process (please email the selection committee at [email protected] if there are barriers to meeting this requirement).
• Demonstrate financial need.
• Meet the respective journal’s data sharing requirement in their submission (e.g., as outlined here).
• Demonstrate progress towards manuscript preparation and a feasible plan for meeting the manuscript submission deadline of June 1, 2027.
• Not have published a manuscript in an ASLO journal that was supported by an Early CareerPublication Honor. Previous honorees who were unable to publish (e.g. manuscript was not submitted or was rejected) are eligible to apply again.

Additional criteria: The primary criteria for selecting honorees are demonstrated need and scientific quality of the research. Additional weight will be given to:

• Submissions of studies which were carried out in a country from the Global South, a region where scientific research is under-funded, even if the applicant is currently affiliated with an institution in the Global North. A list of countries considered as Global South is available at: UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021 (Statistical annex, Table C - Developing Economies by region, page 126). Submissions from researchers based in countries affected by war or armed conflict will also be given priority.
• Submissions from members self-identifying as belonging to one or more underrepresented groups, defined broadly to include race, gender, disability, first-generation, or other identity component that is not proportionally represented in STEM.
• Submissions of manuscripts already in the later stages of writing (e.g., a draft has been sent to co-authors).
• AI policy: Applicants may use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, CoPilot, etc.) for language editing or formatting only. AI must not generate scientific ideas, data, analyses, figures, or text presented as original scholarship. Any AI use for editing and formatting must be disclosed in the application. Submissions must reflect the applicant’s own work; undisclosed or substantive AI-generated content may result in disqualification. Applicants must adhere to the overarching policy: Wiley AI Guidelines for Authors.

How to apply: The selection committee will receive applications via a Google Form. If access to Google is not available, you may access the application form here. Please answer the questions and submit your application to [email protected] as a single PDF file.

Please send any questions about the application process or the Honor to [email protected]. Replies of general interest will be posted to the RCEF Twitter account.

Update 3 June 2026 - The informational webinar referenced in the original announcement has taken place. The information was replaced with a link to the recording.