What makes an open project special? It might be the community that builds it, the knowledge it makes accessible, or the possibilities it creates for others. The 2026 Open Publishing Awards, brought to you by FORCE11, invite us to recognize those contributions and share the stories behind them.
Nominations are open until November 1, 2026. Recognition will be announced online in December 2026. Submit a nomination at openpublishingawards.net.
The awards celebrate publishers, creators, technologists, and advocates advancing open knowledge. They also offer an opportunity to reflect on what openness makes possible: collaboration, trust, shared effort, and work that others can adapt and build upon.
This is a community celebration. The aim is to highlight remarkable contributions and learn from them, with selected projects receiving special recognition.
The 2026 awards span six categories:
- Open Content: Writing, audio, and video that reach audiences around the world.
- Open Source Software: Open development projects that enable the exchange of knowledge.
- Open Data: Open datasets that advance research and transparency.
- Open Infrastructure: Systems, protocols, and networks that sustain the open web.
- Open Organization: Enterprises, nonprofits, and collectives pioneering open operational practices.
- Lifetime Contribution: Individuals whose sustained dedication has shaped open publishing.
The previous editions, in 2019 and 2021, highlighted the breadth of this work. Projects recognized in 2019 included Book Dash, Wikidata, Recogito, Citation Style Language, and the Open Library of Humanities, alongside recognition of the Public Knowledge Project’s long-standing contribution to open scholarly publishing. In 2021, recognized projects included Phone and Spear: A Yuta Anthropology, Programming Historian, Standard Ebooks, Zotero, Stencila, OpenCitations, and Creative Commons.
These projects show how many different forms open publishing can take—from books and educational resources to software, data, and the shared foundations of scholarly communication. You can explore the previous recipients on the Open Publishing Awards website.
Now, we invite you to help identify the projects, organizations, and people we should celebrate in 2026. Self-nominations are warmly welcomed, and you can nominate multiple projects. Along with describing the contribution, the nomination form asks you to explain the role openness plays in making it special. Tell us what open practices and licenses make possible, and why that matters.
We’re also looking for judges. Volunteer juries helped shape the 2019 and 2021 awards, and we welcome expressions of interest from people who would like to contribute their experience and perspectives this year. To get involved, email openpublishingawards@force11.org.
Sponsors are invited to help support this celebration of open publishing. If your organization shares our commitment to open knowledge, we would welcome a conversation about sponsorship opportunities. Contact openpublishingawards@force11.org to learn more.
Mark your calendar:
- November 1, 2026: Nominations close.
- December 2026: Awards announced online.
Submit a nomination, volunteer as a judge, become a sponsor, or share this invitation with your community. Help us recognize the work that makes open knowledge possible.
