2/21 TAA Webinar on Navigating Your Writing Process

Do you ever find yourself writing in circles, struggling with decision fatigue or a lack of purpose in your scholarly writing? Do you wish you had a structure for your writing process that felt expansive and flexible enough to account for the complexities of scholarship creation?

Join us Wednesday, February 21 from 1-2 p.m. ET for a one-hour webinar, Navigating Your Writing Process as a Purposeful QuEST. Margy Thomas, PhD, of ScholarShape will walk you through the simple yet powerful QuEST framework as a way of structuring your writing projects in any genre.

2/21 TAA Webinar on Navigating Your Writing Process Read More

Textbook, Academic Authors Report Very Little Communication with Publishers Regarding AI

Eighty percent of respondents to the Textbook & Academic Authors Association’s latest survey, “Generative AI, Your Publisher & You,” said they have not had conversations with their publishers about their position on AI, their use of AI in their work(s), and/or contract clauses related to AI. The purpose of the survey, conducted between December 12, 2023, and January 8, 2024, was to help members advocate for themselves in conversations with their publisher(s) about generative Al (like ChatGPT) in contracts, policies, and statements.

Textbook, Academic Authors Report Very Little Communication with Publishers Regarding AI Read More

Busy TAA People: Dr. Dannielle Joy Davis Receives SLU’s James H. Korn Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award

TAA member Dr. Dannielle Joy Davis, is the 2023 recipient of the James H. Korn Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award from Saint Louis University’s Reinert Center for her research examining the experiences of marginalized groups in educational settings and the role of policy and practice in academic and occupational outcomes.

The James H. Korn Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award is an annual award established in recognition of Dr. Korn’s many contributions to research on teaching and learning. Professor emeritus in Psychology, Dr. Korn is deeply committed to scholarly teaching; he was also a member of the faculty committee that first established the Reinert Center in 1997.

Busy TAA People: Dr. Dannielle Joy Davis Receives SLU’s James H. Korn Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award Read More

Busy TAA People: Beverly Stein Signs Contract for Music Textbook

TAA member Dr. Beverly Stein, a professor in the Department of Music at California State University, Los Angeles, signed a contract with Rowman & Littlefield in May 2023 for a textbook entitled, Unlocking Meaning in Art Song: A Singer’s Guide to Practical Analysis Using Schubert’s Songs, to be published in June 2024 in time to present to the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) conference.

“Rowman & Littlefield has a new imprint that is combined with NATS, so it’s perfect for my book, which teaches singers how to analyze their songs, using Schubert’s lieder as examples,” says Stein. “I so appreciated TAA for helping me to learn about contracts, when I was considering their offer.”
Congratulations Beverly!

Busy TAA People: Beverly Stein Signs Contract for Music Textbook Read More

TAA Member Phil Wankat: Textbook Ethics From the ‘TAA Report’

The fourth installment of TAA Member Phil Wankat’s curation and commentary of the archival issues of the TAA Report (now The Academic Author), Ethics, is now available.

Wankat selected articles that have information that is still valid today, and included commentary on each. We will be adding these articles to the web page, “Articles from TAA Report Archives (now The Academic Author) with Commentary,” over the next few months. The articles are organized into 10 categories, including Authors Needed, Cartoons, Contracts, Ethics, Money, Production, Recognition and Rewards, Software, Textbooks as Scholarship, and Writer’s Block. 

TAA Member Phil Wankat: Textbook Ethics From the ‘TAA Report’ Read More

TAA Members Weigh In On the Value of Association Benefits

To help guide planning for the association’s future, TAA recently surveyed members about their primary reasons for joining, what their most valuable member benefits are, and what benefits they think the association should begin offering. Of the 1,953 members surveyed (representing those who have agreed to receive emails), 77 responded.

Thirty-one percent of respondents said that their primary reason for joining TAA was to receive member benefits and services, and 30% said it was ”to network with other textbook and/or academic authors.” Seventeen percent of respondents said they joined for another reason.

TAA Members Weigh In On the Value of Association Benefits Read More