Becoming an Academic Writer: 50 Exercises for Paced, Productive, and Powerful Writing by Patricia Goodson helps readers improve their writing by engaging in deliberate practice employing 50 self-paced exercises for the various stages of the writing process. The third edition features a new unit on how to manage the required reading and includes updated material, alongside testimonials from previous users. A new appendix on processing reviewer feedback, and new “Research Shows” boxes also help address hurdles to developing a lower-stress, sustainable writing habit. Purchase it in the 2026 TAA Institute for Textbook & Academic Authors Bookstore.
Bartz v. Anthropic Copyright Case: A Landmark Settlement for Textbook & Academic Authors. What’s next.
As the only association devoted solely to supporting and advocating for the interests of textbook and academic authors, TAA represents not only its nearly 3,600 author-members, but thousands more. In the historic ruling for U.S. copyright holders in the case of Bartz v. Anthropic, in which the court awarded $1.5 billion to authors and publishers whose books were pirated by Anthropic to train its large language models (LLMs), educational/textbook and university press/academic authors represent almost half of the close to 500,000 works infringed in the class.
At a September 25, 2025 hearing, attended by TAA Executive Director Kim Pawlak, TAA Board Treasurer and mathematics textbook author Michael Sullivan, and TAA Board Member and Intellectual Property Attorney Brenda Ulrich, the court granted preliminary approval of the settlement agreement proposed by the plaintiffs, which outlined the claims process for authors and publishers.
2025 TAA Conference Bookstore Featured Book: ‘Becoming the Writer You Already Are’
Why is writing so terrifying? Dr. Michelle R. Boyd’s Becoming the Writer You Already Are explains why being afraid of writing is neither strange nor shameful. And introduces the Writing Metaphor, a tool that illuminates what you already know about overcoming writing challenges. Becoming shows you how to consult, trust, and follow that process. So you can live a pleasurable, productive, satisfying writing life.
4/9 TAA Webinar on Artificial Intelligence
AI is impacting many areas of higher education, and textbook and academic authors want to know more. Caitlin O’Brien, an expert in this ever-changing field, will provide an overview of AI, its capabilities and limitations, and what authors need to know to use these tools safely and ethically.
Join us Tuesday, April 9 from 3-4 p.m. ET for the TAA webinar, “Artificial Intelligence 101 – Basics for Textbook and Academic Authors,” presented by Caitlin O’Brien, Director of Permissions for XanEdu Publishing.
Launching a Consulting Business? Here’s What You Should Know
By Sierra Pawlak
Launching a consulting business can be a daunting task, but in his September 2023 TAA webinar, “How to Leverage a Textbook or Academic Book to Launch a Consulting Career,” textbook author and Public Procurement Consultant Bill Curry shared tips on how to make the process as smooth as possible.
In his presentation, Curry detailed how to set up your consulting business, what to include on your website, and how to use your textbook to promote your consulting services. Part one of this two-part series will cover the initial setup for your new consulting business.
New TAA Workshop Presenter: Vernetta Mosely, PhD
TAA welcomes new Workshop present Vernetta K. Mosely, PhD, a Writing Coach, Editor and Consultant with Cultivate the Writer.
Vernetta offers four 90-minute workshops: