The Value of Continued Connections

By John Bond

Writing, to many, is solitary work. Research, as well, can connote time by yourself spent interpreting data, not to mention the time spent on the literature review. When it comes time to submit for publication, there are numerous hours of combing over your writing for accuracy and grammar. Then checking proofs prior to publication.

All of this adds up to time alone. Many academics, by nature, are solo people. Not all, but some. They understand the heavy lifting the individual has to do. Don’t get me wrong. I have met some big personalities in writing and publishing that love to talk. But they may not be, hmm, the rule.

Busy TAA People: Kent Kauffman Authoring Book on Legal Issues Facing College and Graduate Faculty

TAA member Kent D. Kauffman, J.D. has signed a contract with Rowman & Littlefield to author a legal, professional development book on the key legal issues that college and graduate faculty face in their academic lives. The book will be published in late 2024 or early 2025 and is tentatively titled, Navigating Choppy Waters: Key Legal Issues College Faculty Need to Know (Before the Semester Ends).

Kauffman is an Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics and MBA Programs Faculty Liaison at the Doermer School of Business at Purdue University-Fort Wayne, and was a recipient of a 2019 TAA McGuffey Longevity Award for his textbook, Legal Terminology.

From the Archives – Articles on ‘Textbooks as Scholarship’ From TAA Report, Compiled by TAA Member Phil Wankat

The ninth installment of TAA Member Phil Wankat’s curation and commentary of the archival issues of the TAA Report (now The Academic Author), Textbooks as Scholarship, is now available. Articles include ““Textbooks as Scholarship: An Editorial”, and “Textbook/Materials as an Academic Field of Inquiry: An Introduction and a Selected Annotated Bibliography”.

TAA Announces 2024 Textbook Award Winners

Fifty-seven textbooks have been awarded 2024 Textbook Awards by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). Fourteen textbooks received William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Awards, 25 textbooks received Textbook Excellence Awards, and 18 textbooks received Most Promising New Textbook Awards.

The McGuffey Longevity Award recognizes textbooks and learning materials whose excellence has been demonstrated over time. The Textbook Excellence Award recognizes excellence in current textbooks and learning materials. The Most Promising New Textbook Award recognizes excellence in 1st edition textbooks and learning materials.

The awardees will be recognized during an awards ceremony on Friday, April 26, 2024, at 7:00 pm ET. Register to attend.

Considering Writing a Textbook? Questions to Ask

By Sierra Pawlak

In her November 9, 2022, TAA webinar, “Textbook Authoring Inspirations, Insights, and Innovations”, award-winning textbook author Jamie Pope shared several questions you should ask yourself before writing a textbook. Those questions include:

  • What’s the book’s primary focus and level?
  • Who’s your target audience?
  • What are your qualifications to author the book?
  • How does it differ from other books on the market?
  • Why would someone adopt it over your competitors?

She used these questions to contrast what went right with her successful textbook, Nutrition for a Changing World, the recipient of a 2020 TAA Textbook Excellence Award, and what went wrong with a creative trade book proposal that was never published.

Busy TAA People: TAA Council President Paul Krieger’s A&P Books Transformed From Print to Digital

TAA Council President Paul Krieger has been busy transforming his popular Visual Analogy Guide book series from print into digital and interactive books with Top Hat. His anatomy & physiology book, A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Anatomy & Physiology, went live on the platform at the end of January and his anatomy book and physiology books, A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Anatomy, and A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Physiology, will go live at the end of February. Congratulations Paul!