John Newman’s signature academic work is Playwriting in Schools: Dramatic Navigation, published by Intellect Books. It received the 2020 Distinguished Book Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education and can be found in over 200 university libraries around the world. The book offers an overview of the play development process, depicts models of playwriting with secondary students throughout the United States, and describes the process of working with adult playwrights in secondary schools.

During his 2027 sabbatical, John Newman is planning on adapting into an academic book more than a dozen articles he has published in the International Thespian Society’s Teaching Theatre journal that depict innovative practices in secondary school theatre production, including the development of new plays for young actors and audiences.