Leidschrift

What Leidschrift does

Leidschrift is an academic historical journal published since 1984 by Stichting Leidschrift, a Dutch foundation (stichting) affiliated with Leiden University's History department. The journal releases three themed issues per year, each compiling peer-reviewed articles from established historians — both Dutch and international — alongside one slot reserved for a student contributor. The editorial board is composed entirely of Leiden University history students (BA and MA level), with one faculty member (currently Dr. Diederik Smit) serving as docent-lid. Notable past contributors include Roger Griffin, Leo Lucassen, John France, Luuk de Ligt, and Henk Wesseling.

The organization's technology footprint is modest: a Wix-based website (www.leidschrift.nl) serves as the primary digital storefront for subscriptions, single-issue sales, and donations. Digital issues are delivered as PDFs via email. Older volumes (jaargang 36+) are freely accessible through the Leiden University Scholarly Publications repository, while jaargang 1-30 are available via openaccess.leidenuniv.nl. The publication does not employ APIs, mobile applications, or AI-driven features.

Leidschrift's business model combines subscription revenue (€32.50 regular / €29.95 student annually), single-issue sales (€5 per older digital issue), and a donor/membership program ("Vriend van Leidschrift" at €10-€50/year plus one-time donations). Distribution is primarily digital-first, with physical back-issues available through the webshop. The journal is promoted through Instagram, LinkedIn, Leiden University academic networks, and academic repositories, relying on community-led and event-driven go-to-market motions within the Dutch and European academic history community.

Name

Leidschrift

Legal name

Stichting Leidschrift

Website

https://leidschrift.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Leidschrift is a Dutch academic historical journal published three times annually since 1984 by a student-run foundation affiliated with Leiden University, featuring themed issues of peer-reviewed scholarship from established historians and student contributors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Journal Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Research & Pedagogy Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing (EDAGAFAK), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

Keywords

• Academic journal publishing
• Historical research periodicals
• Subscription publishing services
• Student publishing platform
• Scholarly content publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Leiden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Leidschrift generates revenue through annual subscriptions (regular at €32.50 and student at €29.95) providing digital delivery of three issues per year. Subscriptions are processed via automatic debit (incasso) or invoice.
2. Single Issue Sales: Individual physical and digital issues are sold through the webshop. Welcome packages combining subscription with physical back-issues are offered at premium pricing.
3. Donations and Membership: The organization accepts one-time donations and annual 'Friend of Leidschrift' (Vriend van Leidschrift) memberships starting at €10-30 per year, providing donor benefits including welcome packages.
4. Digital Archive Access: Digital issues from jaargang 36 onwards are freely available via the archive and university repository. Earlier issues (jaargang 1-30) are available via open access through Leiden University repository.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Leidschrift is an academic historical journal published three times per year as themed issues by Stichting Leidschrift, featuring peer-reviewed articles from established historians alongside student contributions. The journal has been published continuously since 1984, with each issue focused on a specific historical theme ranging from antiquity to contemporary history. The publication operates a digital-first model with annual subscriptions, a back-issue webshop, and supporting membership and donation programs.

Product overview

Leidschrift is an academic historical journal published by Stichting Leidschrift, comprising themed issues released three times yearly. The core product consists of peer-reviewed themed issues (themanummers) featuring articles from prominent historians and student contributors. The publication operates through a network of related offerings: the Podium platform provides space for additional articles and student publications outside the main issues; the Webwinkel enables purchase of physical and digital back-issues; subscriptions (Abonnement) provide recurring digital delivery; and support mechanisms include Vriend van Leidschrift (annual donor program) and one-time donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Student publishing opportunities - one student article slot per themed issue
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Leiden University (Universiteit Leiden)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1984Leidschrift is organizationally and academically affiliated with Leiden University's History department. The editorial board consists entirely of Leiden history students, and one faculty member (currently Dr. Diederik Smit) serves as the docent-lid. The partnership provides institutional support, access to academic networks, and contributes to the journal's reputation and distribution through university channels.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis: The flagship Dutch academic history journal published since 1946 under the Royal Netherlands Historical Society (KNHG). Directly comparable to Leidschrift as a peer-reviewed Dutch-language history periodical targeting academic and enthusiast subscribers, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• BMGN – Low Countries Historical Review: A leading Dutch/English-language academic journal on the history of the Low Countries, currently published by Brill. Closely comparable to Leidschrift in thematic focus (historical scholarship) and Dutch academic institutional roots, though with broader international reach and a commercial publisher backing.
• Past & Present: A long-established international peer-reviewed history journal published by Oxford University Press. Comparable to Leidschrift in offering themed historical scholarship, but at significantly higher academic prestige and global subscriber scale.
• History: The Journal of the Historical Association: A UK-based peer-reviewed history journal published by Wiley for the Historical Association. Comparable to Leidschrift in targeting academic historians and enthusiast readers with themed historical content, though with substantially larger subscription base.
• The Journal of Modern History: A premier English-language academic history journal covering modern European history. Comparable to Leidschrift in publishing peer-reviewed historical scholarship on similar eras, though operating with a professional editorial structure and university press distribution.
• Leiden University Press: The scholarly publishing arm of Leiden University itself, which distributes Leidschrift issues and operates the open-access repository. Directly comparable as a Leiden-affiliated scholarly publisher, though LUP operates across many disciplines at commercial scale.

Broad incumbents

• Routledge (Taylor & Francis): One of the world's largest academic publishers with an extensive history and humanities journal list. Comparable as a publisher of themed academic history journals, though operating globally at scale across thousands of titles.
• Brill: A major Dutch-based international academic publisher with deep humanities and history journal portfolio, including BMGN. Comparable in publishing peer-reviewed historical scholarship, though at a vastly larger portfolio scale with global distribution infrastructure.
• Cambridge University Press: A global academic publisher with a significant portfolio of history journals and monograph series. Comparable in publishing peer-reviewed historical scholarship, though at a vastly larger scale with international brand recognition.
• Amsterdam University Press: The scholarly publishing house of the University of Amsterdam, publishing numerous Dutch-language academic journals including Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis. Comparable as a Dutch university-press publisher of academic periodicals, though operating at much greater scale and across many fields.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichting-leidschrift
• Instagraminstagram.com/leidschrift
• Xx.com/leidschrift
• Facebookfacebook.com/Leidschrift

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leidschrift