July 2008
- Download recordings of select 2008 TAA Conference presentations
- TAA Publication Grants process revised: New form and rules simplify application process
- 2008 TAA Conference attracts record number of attendees
- Matson receives TAA's 2008 Norma Hood Award
- Henson receives TAA's 2008 Franklin Silverman Lifetime Achievement Award
- Asante receives TAA's 2008 Mike Keedy Award
- Pawlak receives TAA's 2008 Paul Anderson Award
- Georgia State being sued for copyright infringement
- Bovee, Thill file amended royalty complaint against Pearson
- Call for Papers: Computers and Writing 2009
- Call for Papers: Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology
- Call for Proposals for Center for Integrative Leadership Research Awards
TAA Publication Grants process revised: New form and rules simplify application process
TAA has revised its guidelines for applying for a 2008-2009 TAA Publication Grant to make it a simpler process for members.
TAA's Publication Grants program provides individual grants of up to $750 to cover the cost of publishing already accepted journal articles, or for the preparation of artwork or other charts, diagrams or images to be included in accepted articles or academic books.
Applicants now only have to complete a TAA Publication Grant application form (link to form) and attach a copy of the journal's or editor's letter of acceptance and a copy of the journal's or editor's charge invoice.
TAA's Publication Grant period runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Members who joined TAA through a workshop and received a gift membership are not eligible to apply until they have renewed their membership for a second year.
The funds for TAA Publication Grants come from money distributed to TAA each year through the Authors Coalition (http://www.authorscoalition.org), and are part of the association's mission to assist textbook and academic authors.
TAA Publication Grants Information (members only)
2008-2009 TAA Publication Grant Application Form (members only)
TAA Publication Grants process revised: New form and rules simplify application process
TAA has revised its guidelines for applying for a 2008-2009 TAA Publication Grant to make it a simpler process for members.
TAA's Publication Grants program provides individual grants of up to $750 to cover the cost of publishing already accepted journal articles, or for the preparation of artwork or other charts, diagrams or images to be included in accepted articles or academic books.
Applicants now only have to complete a TAA Publication Grant application form (link to form) and attach a copy of the journal's or editor's letter of acceptance and a copy of the journal's or editor's charge invoice.
TAA's Publication Grant period runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009. Members who joined TAA through a workshop and received a gift membership are not eligible to apply until they have renewed their membership for a second year.
The funds for TAA Publication Grants come from money distributed to TAA each year through the Authors Coalition (http://www.authorscoalition.org), and are part of the association's mission to assist textbook and academic authors.
TAA Publication Grants Information (members only)
2008-2009 TAA Publication Grant Application Form (members only)
2008 TAA Conference attracts record number of attendees
The 2008 TAA Conference at Harrah's in Las Vegas June 19-21, attracted a record number of attendees. Among the almost 80 participants of this year's conference were several first-timers, including several from the University of Las Vegas.
Attendees gave the conference high marks, and several commented positively on specific features of the conference, such as the pre-conference workshops, the Roundtable Discussions, and the 15-minute sessions with authoring attorneys, a literary agent and veteran authors.
Read conference testimonials here
Matson receives TAA's 2008 Norma Hood Award
 Margaret Matson and TAA Executive Director Richard Hull |
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Margaret Matson, who has worked as a program assistant for TAA for more than 10 years, received the association's 2008 Norma Hood Award.
The Award, named after TAA's first executive director, Norma Hood, honors recipients for devotion and commitment to the association. It was presented at the 2008 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring in Las Vegas, June 21.
"Margaret is the quiet, understated kind of worker that puts in hundreds of hours for TAA without saying a word or uttering a complaint," said TAA Office Manager Janet Tucker. "She is amazing—she knows what we need before we know we need it and makes sure that TAA gets it. She is always doing research to keep TAA up-to-date and current and quietly goes about her business tirelessly. She is Headquarter's backbone."
Henson receives TAA's 2008 Franklin Silverman Lifetime Achievement Award
 Kenneth Henson and TAA President John Wakefield |
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Kenneth Henson, distinguished professor of education at The Citadel's School of Education, received the 2008 Franklin Silverman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA). The award is named after Frank Silverman, a former TAA president and founder of the TAA workshop program who died from brain cancer in 2004.
The award, presented at the 2008 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring in Las Vegas, June 21, honors its recipients for a lifetime of excellence in authoring and a career of support and service to authors.
Henson is the presenter of the TAA sponsored workshops "Writing for Publication" and "Writing Grant Proposals". He has written and co-authored more than 300 national publications. His 40 books include five books on writing for publications and two Phi Delta Kappa fastbacks (monographs) on this topic. His biennial survey results have appeared in every other June issue of the Phi Delta Kappan for over 25 years. Henson has given this workshop on some 300 colleges campuses from coast to coast.
Asante receives TAA's 2008 Mike Keedy Award
 Molefi Kete Asante |
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Molefi Kete Asante, professor of African American Studies at Temple University, received the 2008 Mike Keedy Award from TAA. The award is named after TAA Founder Mike Keedy. Asante serves on the TAA Foundation Board.
The Mike Keedy Award honors recipients for dedicated service on behalf of authors. It was presented at the 2008 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring in Las Vegas, June 21.
Asante is considered by his peers to be one of the most distinguished contemporary scholars. He has published 65 books, among the most recent are The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony (2007), Cheikh Anta Diop: An Intellectual Portrait (2006), Spear Masters: Introduction to African Religion (2007), Handbook of Black Studies, (2005), co-edited with Maulana Karenga, Encyclopedia of Black Studies, (2004), co-edited with Ama Mazama, Race, Rhetoric, and Identity: The Architecton of Soul, Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation, (2003), Ancient Egyptian Philosophers (2003), Scattered to the Wind, Custom and Culture of Egypt, and 100 Greatest African Americans. The second edition of his high school text, African American History: Journey of Liberation, 2nd Edition, (2001), is used in more than 400 schools throughout North America.
Pawlak receives TAA's 2008 Paul Anderson Award
 TAA Executive Director Richard Hull and Kim Pawlak |
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Kim Pawlak, associate executive director for the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA), received the association’s 2008 Paul Anderson Award.
The Award, named after TAA’s very first member, Paul Anderson, honors recipients for extraordinary service to the association in recruiting new members. It was presented at the 2008 TAA Conference on Text and Academic Authoring in Las Vegas, June 21.
Pawlak was given the Award for bringing in more than 125 TAA members through a TAA Foundation gift membership campaign.
Pawlak has been with TAA since 1995, when she worked as a writer for The Academic Author and the TAA website. She was hired as editor of The Academic Author and TAA website in 2000. She was hired as associate executive director in 2006.
Georgia State being sued for copyright infringement
Three publishers, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Sage Publications, are suing Georgia State University for copyright infringement for allowing its professors and librarians to disseminate readings online from thousands of works without the publishers' permission.
The University filed papers in its defense in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta on June 24, citing the Copyright Act's fair use doctrine. Fair use refers to the ability to use copyrighted material without the copyright holder's permission under certain conditions, including criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
Read the lawsuit: Click here
Bovee, Thill file amended royalty complaint against Pearson
Textbook authors Courtland Bovee and John Thill filed an amended complaint on May 28, 2008 against Pearson Education in the United States District Court of Southern District of New York.
The suit seeks monetary damages for "systematic breaches and bad faith performances" of author agreements. The authors contend that Pearson has withheld, at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of dollars of royalty income generated by the sale of their business communication and introduction to business textbooks.
The suit targets three accounting practices used by Pearson that the authors say reduces their royalties and increases the publisher's profits. They are:
1) Pearson applied a drastically reduced royalty rate of sales to the authors' works through the publisher's foreign affiliates and subsidiaries which would only apply if those foreign affiliates and subsidiaries were third parties (which they are not). These foreign affiliates and subsidiaries entered into license agreements with the publisher rather than the contractually required royalty rates of 15 percent and 10 percent on such sales.
2) Pearson unilaterally altered their method of calculating high discount sales several years after the execution of the author agreements in order to capture more sales at high discounts, on which a reduced royalty rate of 5 percent was paid instead of the default royalty rates of 17 percent o 18.75 percent, depending on the work.
3) Pearson applied a reduced royalty rate of 10 percent to custom published works (i.e. works in which the publisher's customers customize books by combining portions of several different textbooks or original material into one book or electronic work) as if such works were "other versions" or "abridgements" (which they are not), instead of the proper royalty rate -- the default rates (between 17 percent and 18.75 percent) or the 17.75 percent royalty rate for sales of electronic versions of the works.
In addition, the suit states that the publishers have refused to provide the authors with access to their books and records, in defiance of the authors' contractual rights. The publishers' improper accounting practices, said the authors, have resulted in profits for the publishers' at their expense.
Read the Expanded Royalty Manipulation Suit Filed Against Pearson: Click here for PDF
Call for Papers: Computers and Writing 2009
The American Education Research Association is calling for papers for its Computers and Writing 2009 conference at the University of California, Davis, June 18-21, 2009. They seek papers that explore the complex social, pedagogical and institutional dynamics around ubiquitous and/or sustainable computing. They encourage proposals that explain the impact and challenges of ubiquitous and sustainable computing in different contexts (educational settings, workplaces, and leisure spaces).
Deadline for proposals is Friday, September 19, 2008. Contact Conference Chair Carl Whithaus for more information: cwwhithaus@ucdavis.edu or visit the conference website.
Call for Papers: Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) (Korea), Busan Metropolitan City, Korea, and Korea Electronics Technology Institute, are calling for papers for the 3rd Annual International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology. The conference will be held in Busan, Korea November 11-13, 2008: Click here
Selected papers will be published by SCI listed eminent international journals (e.g., SCI, Elsevier, Inderscience, Graz University of Tech). The conference will provide a forum to present research results in all areas related to the theory, development, applications, experiences, and evaluations of convergence/hybrid information technology and next generation information technologies and services fields. Submissions are also being accepted for workshops and special sessions. Deadline for paper submission is June 10: Click here
Call for Proposals for Center for Integrative Leadership Research Awards
The University of Minnesota is calling for proposals for its Center for Integrative Leadership (CIL) Research Awards, which will "annually honor scholars who are expected to fuel and broaden integrative thinking and practice across boundaries in their chosen field." The awards will help fund integrative leadership research, focusing especially on important societal problems. The Center will offer two types of stipends. The $10,000 CIL Scholar Award (up to three awarded annually) is intended for senior scholars who already have an outstanding record of accomplishment in leadership studies or related fields. The $2,500 CIL Leadership Award is for junior scholars who are beginning their work in leadership studies. Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2008. The proposed research must be completed by December 31, 2009. For more information: Contact Anna Lloyd, center executive director or: lloyd100@umn.edu or Angela Stehr, center administration: stehr002@umn.edu or (612) 625-5209.
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