We are pleased to welcome Stephanie Kinner, our new Events & Operations Coordinator, who joined the staff on September 22. She has experience in event planning and operational support and will oversee the planning of TAA’s annual virtual and in-person conferences, starting with the next in-person conference in 2027.
She is excited to be part of TAA and support the needs of academic and textbook authors.
Educational/textbook and university press/academic authors represent almost half of the close to 500,000 works infringed in Bartz v. Anthropic. For more on that decision and TAA’s role, click here.
TAA will be rolling out more guidance for textbook and academic authors in the days and weeks to come. First up is a webinar on October 8, from 2-3 p.m. ET, “What Textbook & Academic Authors Need to Know About Filing Claims in Bartz v. Anthropic.” It is open to members and non-members, so spread the word.
The claims period runs from now until March 23, 2026. It is not a “first come first served” situation, so take the time to do it right and ensure your best chance of a good recovery. Learn more about how to get started.
In her 2025 TAA Virtual Conference session, “Can My Publisher Really Do That?”, Brenda Ulrich, an intellectual property attorney with Archstone Law, said that authors often ask her questions that boil down to “can my publisher do that?”, but what they’re really asking is, “what does my contract allow my publisher to do?”.
“At the end of the day, the rules of your relationship with your publisher come down to what’s in the contract,” she said. “That’s why it is really important to carefully negotiate a contract from the start and make sure that from the start you understand what it means. That way, when things get dicey and divisive, the contract is the road map that you, the publisher, your lawyer, and ultimately, perhaps even a court, will look at to determine whether you or your publisher can ‘do that.’”
She shared some of the most common questions she hears from authors. Here are two:
The TAA Board welcomed new President Dione Taylor, new Vice President/President-Elect Christine Tulley, and new Secretary Jamie Pope on July 1. Former Board Secretary, Brenda Ulrich, an intellectual property attorney at Archstone Law, was appointed a three-year term as Board member.
Taylor is ascending to President after serving two years as Vice President/President-Elect. She is Director of the Pupil Personnel Services, School Counseling program in the School of Education at Point Loma Nazarene University. She conducted research with graduate students around the topic of cultural competence and published the results in an article entitled Developing graduate and undergraduate student cultural sensitivity and emerging competence using the Intercultural Development Inventory®.
We’re thrilled to share that the 2025 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring was a tremendous success — and it’s all thanks to our incredible attendees, speakers, sponsors, and staff who made this event truly special.
Held virtually June 9-10, this year’s conference brought together textbook and academic authors from across the country for two days of learning, connection, and inspiration. With 147 participants and a lineup of close to two dozen expert-led sessions, the event offered something valuable for every stage of the author journey — from first-time writers to seasoned scholars.
Health and physical education textbook author Charles “Chuck” Corbin was inducted into the TAA Council of Fellows, which recognizes distinguished authors who have a long record of successful publishing. Any author whose textbook or other instructional and academic works have established his/her presence in scholarly publishing over time and who has been innovative in the presentation of material, is qualified for nomination into the TAA Council of Fellows. Induction into the Council of Fellows is the premier honor bestowed by TAA.
On behalf of the association and its Awards Committee, TAA Board President Paul Krieger, said: “I extend our warmest congratulations on your induction into the 2025 TAA Council of Fellows. This well-deserved honor recognizes not only your extraordinary accomplishments as an author, educator, and scholar but also your deep and longstanding contributions to the TAA community. Your body of work exemplifies the values and mission of TAA. It is our honor to recognize you with this distinction, and we thank you for the legacy you continue to build.”
