It is common that when a technical paper is accepted for publication by
>a peer reviewed journal, the author's employer usually pays page
>charges. Being retired, I wish to submit a technical paper to a journal.
>If I pay the page charges, would they be deductible? I will get no
>income from that. The journal would be that of an organization devoted
>to disseminating scientific and technical knowledge.
>
>If I were to collaborate with an academic on such a paper, would I be
>able to get a deduction by contributing to the academic's institution
>for the specific purpose of paying the page charges?
If your theory is this is in connection with your trade or business, you have not shown where you have a trade or business to claim this deduction.
So maybe you claim this to be a chariable deduction. But it seems there are strings attached and I would be hard pressed to claim this as a charitable deduction, though that's probaby the best course here.