sing a transdisciplinary method combining art history, literary studies, and neuroaesthetics, A Neuroarthistory of The Painters of Modern Life Embodying Baudelairean Modernity by Lauren S. Weingarden, examines the modern urban experience of nineteenth-century Paris through language and images of fragmentation and transformation.The volume includes new empirical research conducted in collaboration with neuropsychologists, which tracks present-day viewers’ physical and psychological responses to nineteenth-century painting and photography, thus providing data to model an experiential aesthetic for Baudelairean modernity.
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.
Day One: Book Proposal
By John Bond
Writers take different journeys getting to a published book. Some write their manuscript, and then write a book proposal. Some may work on both simultaneously. Some may never write a book proposal. And I am sure there are other permutations. I think a case can be made for writing a full, final book proposal before you ever write a single word of your manuscript. Hear me out.
Book proposals (the way I suggest people create them) include Project Overview and Summary, Extended Table of Contents, Project Specifications and Status, Book Market, Competitive or Complimentary Books, Author Bio, and Author Promotional Platform. Contact me for what each of these mean if you are unsure.
Writing a book proposal as a first step does not mean anything is set in stone. The table of contents, the title, the competitive books: all of it can change if needed. So, why create this before writing?
Busy TAA People: Wendi Zimmer Authoring New Book
TAA member Dr. Wendi Zimmer, PhD, a mindset expert, writing consultant, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University. is writing a book titled, The Force Continuum: How to Shift Your Mindset to Transform Your Life, which will contain simple strategies to be who you were made to be and develop your force.
“The Force Continuum is a series of four pillars (mindset, identity, energy, and habits) that when strengthened, allow us to apply the information we already know to believe in ourselves and take control of our lives,” said Zimmer. The book’s release date is January 10, 2025. Congratulations, Wendi!
Busy TAA People: Dr. Janet Salmons Authors Chapter in New Book on Research Methods
TAA member Dr. Janet Salmons, Research Community Manager for SAGE Publications, recently published a chapter in a new book, Handbook of Teaching and Learning Social Research Methods (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023). The book “illustrates the wide range of approaches to teaching and learning social research methods in the classroom, online, in the field and in informal contexts.” Salmons co-authored Chapter 23, “Teaching research methods online: informal or semi-formal professional development.”
2023 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring opens mentoring sign up: Limited space available
Gain valuable advice and insight, get your questions answered, or just make a connection for when you need help in the future by signing up to meet with a mentor at the 2023 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring, which will be held online June 9-10, 2023.
The deadline for signing up for mentoring is May 15. Limited slots are available and are offered on a first come, first-served basis, so don’t delay, register for the conference today!
Choose from nine different mentors for up to two 15-minute one-on-one discussions: