Dr. Andrea Honigsfeld, a Professor of TESOL Teacher Education, and Dr. Audrey Cohan, Senior Dean for Research, Scholarship, and Graduate Studies, both of Molloy University, co-authored a new book, Collaboration for Multilingual Learners With Exceptionalities: We Share the Students, published by Corwin, a Sage company. The book includes models, strategies, and real-life stories to strengthen readers’ collaborative practices. The authors won the Most Promising New Textbook award from TAA in 2016 for their book, Serving English Language Learners. Congratulations, Andrea and Audrey!
2025 TAA Virtual Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring Call for Proposals Now Open
The TAA Conference Committee invites proposals for its 2025 Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference, which will be held online June 6-7. Presenting at TAA’s 2025 Conference provides an opportunity to share your knowledge, experiences, and ideas with other textbook authors, academic authors, and industry professionals. The theme is “The Future is Now.” We welcome proposals from first-time and veteran presenters! The deadline for submitting a proposal is October 13, 2024.
Publishers Strike Data Deals with AI Companies: What It Means for Academic Authors
By Kimberly Becker
Recent developments in academic publishing have dramatically shifted the landscape for authors. Major publishers like Taylor & Francis and Wiley have forged partnerships with tech giants, aiming to leverage vast academic content repositories for AI development. This means that copyrighted materials from these publishers are now being used to train AI models – a practice I previously advised against.
As a presenter at the recent TAA conference, I discussed the ethical integration of AI in academic writing. However, these new partnerships have rendered some of my initial advice partially obsolete. In light of these changes, it’s crucial to revisit this topic and explore its implications for TAA members.
What Can You Do If Your Work Is Plagiarized?
By Sierra Pawlak
During the July 2024 TAA Conversation Circle on the topic of plagiarism, Micki Caskey, a Professor Emerita at Portland State University, shared her experience with having her work plagiarized.
“It was a shock to me that my work had been taken,” she said. “The reason I cared is because I worked really hard on that project. This was work I had committed a lot of intellectual space to, and I just was aghast that someone would take it. It’s not that I am the greatest author in the world, I just would like to be credited for the work that I’ve done.”
Caskey discovered her work had been plagiarized in 2021 when she went to update a piece she originally wrote in 2007 and had updated in 2014, a research summary on the developmental characteristics of young adolescents.
WIPO Publishes Contracts Toolkit for Authors and Publishers
The World Intellectual Property Association (WIPO) has published a new toolkit for authors and publishers that includes “a checklist of the most essential considerations while drafting and concluding a contract.”
Contracts in Publishing: A Toolkit for Authors and Publishers, was drafted by Brian Wafawarowa, Chairperson of the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA), and Isobel Dixon, a renowned South African poet and Head of Books at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency in the UK, in consultation with several international author and publisher organizations.
Daphne C. Watkins Receives Pynn-Silverman Lifetime Achievement Award From TAA
Daphne C. Watkins, a Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan, has been awarded the Pynn-Silverman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). The award was established to honor individuals whose achievements over a career of devoted effort and service demonstrate the highest degree of commitment to excellence in authoring works to advance their discipline; encourage, enlighten and support the work of colleagues; and educate students in the field. The award is named for Ron Pynn and Franklin Silverman, two charter members of TAA who pursued and modeled these qualities in their own work.
“I am deeply honored to have been selected for this award,” said Watkins. “Thank you!”