At the start of 2022, the world is a much different place from when I first took up the role of co-editor alongside Dirk Delabastita in 2019. Target, too, has undergone significant changes during this time. After Dirk stepped down at the end of 2019, Douglas Robinson took over as co-editor in 2020, and Doug and I continued the close collaborative dual-editor structure that had served Target so well over the years. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Doug for his role as co-pilot in steering Target through a tumultuous year, in which we all had to come to terms with the profound personal and social impacts of a pandemic, also in our academic community.

Despite the challenges, Target has continued to grow, and in the course of 2020 it also became clear to us that the editorial structure of the journal, relying on two editors working in close collaboration, was not sustainable. Since 2019, the journal has received on average more than 200 submissions per year, of which only approximately 14% are ultimately accepted for publication. The vast majority of papers which are not accepted are rejected at the desk review stage, in a comprehensive and rigorous – and therefore necessarily time-consuming – evaluation process.

We grappled with how to navigate the often complex relationship between the realities and demands of academic publishing, and the aspirations and values that inform our editorial work. We strive to publish research that meets the highest standard of academic rigour and innovation, while providing a constructive and supportive peer review environment. Our journal attempts to truly do justice to the diversity of translation studies as a discipline with respect not only to various approaches, methodologies and theoretical frameworks, but also to languages and cultures. All of this is done in line with a cohesive, values-driven editorial vision.

I would like to thank in particular the members of our editorial board, and publisher Isja Conen, for many conversations about these matters. Their insights have been fundamental to mapping out a vision for the future, which has resulted in two significant changes to our editorial structure and our publishing schedule as part of our strategy to realise this vision.

First, Target moved to an editorial structure with four associate editors working together with the editor. Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow, Ting Guo, Sameh Hanna, and Luis Pérez-González have been fulfilling the role of associate editors from the start of 2021, and I would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome them to the Target editorial team, and thank them for their invaluable work over the past year. The editorial team is rounded out by our style editor Melanie Ann Law and Daria Dayter, our multilingual website editor. The unique combination of experience and expertise of our editorial team mirrors the range and diversity of our discipline, which we remain committed to both reflecting and promoting in Target.

Second, from 2022 Target will publish four issues per year, allowing us to give more space to excellent research as the journal expands to keep pace with the growth of the discipline.

We look forward to a new phase in the history of Target. 2022 will undoubtedly bring with it more challenges, as the world (and academic publishing) continues to change. We would like to look beyond numbers, clicks, impact factors and citations (important as they have become in academic publishing, and favourable as they may be in Target’s case), and focus our attention on people and ideas – continuing to promote values of research excellence combined with diversity and community in translation studies. My warmest thanks to the editors, editorial board members, authors, reviewers, production staff, and readers who make up the Target community, for contributing with such generosity of spirit to helping us fulfil these aspirations over the past three years, in often difficult circumstances. I am looking forward to working with you in the future.