2026 TAA Institute for Textbook & Academic Authors | Meet with a Mentor
June 12, 2026 12-1 p.m. & 3- 6 p.m. ET | June 13, 2026 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET | Institute Home Page
Institute registration includes the opportunity to sign up for a one-on-one 30-minute mentoring session with a veteran textbook author or industry professional.
Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to receive insight from and make meaningful connections with veteran textbook and academic authors, as well as industry professionals such as editors, writing coaches, intellectual property attorneys, and publishers.
Sign ups will open along with registrations on January 1, 2026 and will be available on a first come, first served basis. The link to sign up and the available time slots for each mentor will be included in your Institute registration confirmation email.
Corey Parson
 Managing Editor, University of North Georgia Press
Corey Parson is the Managing Editor of the University of North Georgia Press, where she oversees the production of all titles from query to publication. With over a decade of experience in publishing, she brings a deep commitment to accessible, ethical, and innovative publishing practices. Her areas of expertise include accessibility; contracts, copyright, and licensing; peer review; acquisitions; book design; and AI in publishing.
Mentoring Topics:
- Querying publishers
- AI practices for authors
- Peer review process
Lisa Peterson
 Senior Director, Learning Solutions, Top Hat
Lisa's focus is on the development and production of textbooks for the higher education market. She has worked for over 20 years in the educational publishing industry, working closely with authors, editors, subject matter experts, and production-facing vendors to ensure that the textbook being delivered to the market addresses key teaching and learning challenges.
Mentoring topics:
- Tips for working with your Developmental Editor (understanding their role and how they work with you throughout the writing process)
- Understanding the typical publishing workflow process for print and digital resources (ideal for those new to textbook publishing)
- Primer on typical roles and responsibilities of individuals you will encounter in textbook publishing (also ideal for those new to textbook publishing)
Jocelyn Nelson
 Teaching Professor Emerita, East Carolina University
While authoring a TAA-award-winning textbook and at the same time juggling a busy teaching position off the tenure track, Dr. Jocelyn Nelson developed strategies valuable for academic book authors that she can mentor you through, including how to:
- Add writing time into an already-packed schedule
- Develop pedagogy suited to your readership
- Work collaboratively with editors, publishers, and colleagues in your discipline
- Deal with writing challenges including writer’s block, changing your mind about chapter content or goals, and more.
Angelica Ribeiro
 Adjunct Professor, Houston Christian University and University of Houston-Clear Lake
Although her academic research and teaching is in second language learning, Angelica's books - Running into Happiness and How to Create Happiness at Work - focus on happiness. She writes about how to use the science of happiness to create joy in everyday life, including at work. See https://www.creatinghappiness.today
Mentoring Topics:
- Self-publishing
- Strategies to bring joy into your writing
- Strategies to navigate challenges in your writing
Dannelle D. Stevens
 Professor Emerita, Portland State University
Dannelle D. Stevens, Ph.D., is a Professor Emerita from Portland State University who has served as a coach, mentor, and writing buddy for faculty for over twenty years. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences to faculty about boosting their writing productivity and their sense of well-being and confidence about writing. Her recent book, Write More, Publish More, Stress Less, (2019, Routledge) offers graduate students and faculty numerous tricks of the trade designed to outfox the expectations of the system and become productive academic authors who know what to do when staring at the blank page. As a mentor, she is a great listener and guide through the winding and sometimes seemingly treacherous path toward success in your academic life.
Mentoring Topics:
- Maintaining writing momentum
- Planning writing as your insurance policy for success in academe
- Selecting a journal for publication
Christine Tulley
 Owner and President of Defend, Publish & Lead, LLC and Professor of English
Director of the MARW Program, Director of the Writing Program, and the Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty Liaison, University of Findlay
Christine Tulley is the owner and president of Defend, Publish & Lead, LLC and a longtime leader in faculty and graduate student writing support. Her research expertise focuses on scholarly writing habits, academic time management, and faculty writing support including Productivity, Parenting, and Professionalism in Academia (2025), Faculty Writing Support: Emerging Research from Rhetoric and Composition Studies (2025), and How Writing Faculty Write: Strategies for Process, Product, and Productivity (2018). She is currently at work on a new book on sabbaticals, under contract with Princeton University Press.
She is the founder and director of the MA in Rhetoric and Writing at The University of Findlay and currently directs all faculty writing support, including development of tenure and promotion support materials, faculty writing groups, and individual writing schedules for those who struggle with time management or writer’s block.
As a regular contributor to Inside Higher Education, her advice columns focus on faculty productivity strategies, including how to juggle multiple writing projects and craft cohesive, successful tenure and promotion applications.
2026 TAA Institute for Textbook & Academic Authors | Quick Links
    
  
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