The 2026 TAA Institute for Textbook and Academic Authors, which took place June 12-13, allowed veteran and new/aspiring textbook and academic authors across multiple writing disciplines to do a deep dive on topics that met their experience levels.

Bryan Alexander’s keynote on the future of textbook publishing led to a lively discussion among attendees about where the industry is headed, especially as it relates to AI. Intellectual Property Attorney Brenda Ulrich’s contracts session and IP Attorney Zick Rubin’s participation in the Learning Labs was instrumental in offering attendees guidance on their contracts. Alison Miller’s co-working sessions guided authors through a new way of working—one that supports both their writing and well-being. Several mentors, including Corey Parson, Lisa Peterson, Jocelyn Nelson, Rebecca Paynter, Angelica Ribeiro, Dannelle Stevens, Christine Tulley, met one-on-one with attendees to provide support. Longer-form Learning Labs by Christine Tulley, Pat Goodson, Gregory Lewbart, Wendy Tietz and Tracie Miller allowed attendees to experience a deeper dive into topics and the opportunity to participate in open-sharing discussions.

Thank you to the incredible attendees, mentors, and speakers who made this event truly special. We are especially grateful to sponsor Archstone Law, who continues to support these annual events for authors.

Here’s what participants had to say about their experience:

“As usual, TAA delivers such wonderful content from experts that help us with practical solutions to complex writing challenges. Very grateful!! TAA always comes through with excellent selections for sessions; sometimes I have no idea what’s going to be presented, and it’s always very valuable.” – Mary McDonald

“Perfect choice for Keynote. Engaging speaker, important topic, and good facilitation of discussion. Incredibly thought provoking – wonderful to have such a long discussion period as part of this!” [Keynote by Bryan Alexander]

“Fantastic session – lots of helpful detail, great presentation style from the presenter – I really felt her deep expertise come through.” [Contracts session with Brenda Ulrich]

“Loved the opportunity to practice using a tool that increases writing productivity. I used this session to clarify my intention for participating in a one week faculty writing retreat next week.” [CoWorking Sessions with Alison Miller]

[Learning Labs] “Very informative session – thanks so much to the presenters!”, “Christine is great, and one gets the sense that she has ‘seen it all.’ (At least in terms of being a veteran writer in academia!) The ideas that were a ‘fit’ for my situation were really helpful. The handout was great. 🙂” and “I really appreciated the viewpoint and experiences of the presenter (really both- the copyright lawyer who dropped in and the main presenter). The sharing and questions at the end were gold.”

Thank you all for joining us!

Attendees will have access to event recordings through the end of 2026. Check your emails for access.