WJM (Wisdom Journal Manager) is free open-source WordPress software for small scholarly journals. Authors submit papers. Editors review them in an Inbox. Then you publish.

Do authors need a WordPress account?

No. Authors use a public submit page. They never need wp-admin.

Yes. WJM is free and open source under GPL-2.0-or-later. There is no WJM license fee. Optional tools like Stripe or DOI use keys you already own.

Do I need Stripe or a DOI to start?

No. You can run submit → Inbox → publish with no vendor keys. Turn on money and DOI later under Advanced if you need them.

Is WJM a replacement for ScholarOne or OJS?

No. WJM is for small boards (one journal or a few) that already use WordPress. It is not enterprise peer-review software and not a full OJS clone.

Campus journals, society newsletters with peer review, student research magazines, and small editorial boards that want a simple WordPress loop instead of email chaos.

Wisdom Journal Manager · free · open source

Free WordPress software for a small journal.

Authors send a paper on a public page. You review it in an Inbox, like email but built for journals. Then you publish.

Get WJM on WordPress.org View on GitHub Install guide See screenshots

WJM Home in WordPress showing the next step for your journal after install — Home tells you what to do next.

Example

Imagine this

Campus Nursing Research Journal

Your school already has a WordPress site. Three faculty edit a student research journal. Today they use email: "Can you review this PDF?" Folders get lost. Nobody knows who claimed what.

With WJM they install the plugin once. A student opens nursing.example.edu/submit, fills the form, uploads the paper. An editor opens Journals → Inbox, claims it, sends a review invite, accepts it, and publishes. Readers see the paper on the journal page.

They never open Stripe. They never buy a DOI on day one. Email stops being the workflow.

Society newsletter with peer review. One title, volunteer editors, WordPress already paid for.
Department working-paper series. Public submit, light review, publish as HTML + PDF.
Student research magazine. Faculty advisor as editor, Inbox as the daily desk.

How it works

Authors submit. Public form. No WordPress login. Example: "Submit to Spring 2027 issue."
You work the Inbox. Claim a paper. Invite a reviewer. Accept, ask for changes, or reject. Send a decision letter.
You publish. The paper shows on your public journal pages. Readers find it like any other WordPress page.

What you see

Three main screens. More screenshots

WJM Inbox board in WordPress with papers to claim, review, and decide — **Inbox.** Your daily desk: claim, review, decide.

Public journal page on WordPress with title and submit button for authors — **Public journal.** What readers and authors see.

Published research paper page on the WordPress front end — **Paper page.** The published article.

Who it is for

Small editorial boards that already use WordPress and do not want ScholarOne. One short loop. Not fifty titles and a long procurement.

Not for: mega-publishers, Web of Science dashboards, or replacing OJS feature-for-feature. See honest limits.

Later, if you need money or DOI

Stripe article fees, Crossref / DataCite DOI, ORCID login, and DOAJ checklists live under Advanced. You paste your keys. WJM is not a paywall and does not sell you hosting.

Install guide · Why the loop stays short · What we do not claim

FAQ

What is WJM?: Free open-source WordPress software for small scholarly journals. Submit → Inbox → publish.
Do authors need a WordPress account?: No. Share the public submit page. They never touch wp-admin.
Is it free?: Yes. GPL-2.0-or-later. No WJM license fee. Optional Stripe/DOI use keys you already own.
Do I need Stripe or DOI on day one?: No. Skip them until you need them.
Is this ScholarOne or OJS?: No. Built for small boards on WordPress, not enterprise peer review or full OJS parity.
How do I start?: Install the plugin → Import demo → open Inbox → share the submit link with authors. Step-by-step guide.

Start

Install. Import the demo. Open Inbox. Share the submit page. Usually under 15 minutes if WordPress is already running.

Get WJM on WordPress.org View on GitHub Read the guide

Based on research

WJM started as a research paper about how a journal system can run on WordPress. The plugin you install follows that design.

Read the paper: SSRN or ResearchGate