TAA member James Kalat’s textbook, Biological Psychology, recently celebrated its 40th year in print with the publication of the 14th edition. The 9th edition of Biological Psychology received a TAA McGuffey Longevity Award in 2007. Congratulations James!
Textbook publishing contracts in an evolving publishing world
Over the past several years major publishers have been moving away from physical or electronic books into online learning platforms and courseware, and from straight sales of standalone books to bundles, custom products and subscriptions. Traditional publishing contracts were developed at a time when a book was a discrete unit, sales could easily be tracked in those units, and revisions occurred on a predictable cycle. Publishers are trying in various ways to update and adapt their contracts to the new textbook landscape. In her 2023 TAA Conference session, presenter Brenda Ulrich, an attorney at Archstone Law Group, will explore the ways in which the contracts are changing, and what the implications are for authors.
For an equitable textbook, universal design for learning is a must
Universal design for learning (UDL) is an evidence-based framework that improves and optimizes teaching and learning for all people. UDL recognizes the diversity of student learners and leverages how humans learn to improve and optimize teaching and learning.
In their 2023 TAA Conference session, “For an Equitable Textbook, Universal Design for Learning is a Must,” Laura Frost, Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean at Florida Gulf Coast University; and Shawn Nordell, Associate Director of Graduate Career Services at the University of Arizona, provide an overview of the UDL framework, some examples of how authors can work UDL principles into their textbook writing, and discuss among the participants how this framework can be further used to enhance the equitability and accessibility of their textbooks.
Thinking about writing an open access textbook? Learn from this case study
Christopher Iverson, and Dan Ehrenfeld, both Assistant Professors of English and Humanities at Farmingdale State College (SUNY), will share their experience authoring the Open Educational Resource, Processes, which compiled FSC writers’ work, in their 2023 TAA Conference session, “The Creation of an OER to Establish and Maintain a Writers’ Community at a Regional Public College.”
They will share highlights, outline key decisions and processes (such as the selection of a Creative Commons License that best supports their mission to share their work broadly), and discuss ways that composing OERs can build community on and between campuses. Processes will be published by SUNY Geneseo Press, and the experience of creating it opened opportunities for community building remotely.
Registration is now open for the 2023 TAA Conference on Textbook & Academic Authoring
Network with other textbook and academic authors and gain knowledge on writing and editing strategies, writing productivity, textbook contracts and royalties, and much more! You will leave inspired!
You’ll have the opportunity to participate in more than two dozen educational sessions, one-on-one mentoring sessions with veteran textbook and academic authors and industry professionals, and plenty of networking and information-sharing sessions.
TAA’s 35th Annual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference will be held online, June 9-10, 2023, on an interactive virtual conference platform.
TAA raises the alarm on book banning
In recent years an alarming number of books are being banned in U.S. public school classrooms, libraries, or both.
PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans lists 2,532 instances of individual books being banned, affecting 1,648 unique book titles and 1,261 different authors in one year’s period (July 2021 to June 2022). The American Library Association (ALA) reports that this current trend in 2022 is the highest number of book challenges since the American Library Association began recording this data over 20 years ago. The subject matter of these banned books relates to content on race and racism, gender identities, and sexual content.