Editors of a semantics journal owned by Springer Nature have resigned to launch a new journal, citing pressure from the publisher to increase its annual publication volume by 25%. The Editor-in-Chief and two Associate Editors of Natural Language Semantics resigned from the journal in early April 2026.

In an open letter published on May 19, 2026, the three former editors, together with the founding editors of Natural Language Semantics, announced the launch of a new journal, Semantics of Natural Languages. The new publication is being published by the Open Library of Humanities, an open-access publisher whose mission, according to its website, is to “liberate university research from commercial control.”

The journal represents the fourth mass editorial resignation reported by Retraction Watch in 2026 and joins more than 50 other cases listed in its ongoing record of mass resignations across scholarly publishing.

Another high-profile case has interested scientists. Read now