Larson Texts and Big Ideas Learning Unify Under a Single Brand Identity

Larson Texts and Big Ideas Learning, founded by TAA member and multiple TAA Textbook Award winner Dr. Ron Larson, announced the unification of its two brand identities to Big Ideas Learning, a Larson Texts Company.

Both companies are leaders in K-Higher-Ed math education. According to a September 20, 2024 press release, Larson’s “contribution to mathematics education is monumental. From the publication of his first Calculus textbook in 1978 to the foundation of Big Ideas Learning, his vision has always been to make math accessible and engaging for students.”

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Share Your Book Contracts, Royalty Statements for Complimentary Review

TAA member Joseph Rust, CPA, CFP, an accountant with Prager Metis CPAs, is seeking authors interested in sharing their book contracts and royalty statements for a complimentary review. Rust would also like to know what authors’ concerns and questions are when it comes to their contracts and royalties statements. He plans to take the information he learns to provide resources, including a glossary of royalty statement terms, to TAA members in the coming months.

Please reach out to him directly at jrust@pragermetis.com. His full contact information can also be found in TAA’s Professional Directory.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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