Several TAA members were recognized for exemplary contributions to the association over the past year during an awards ceremony held at the 2017 TAA Conference in Providence, RI June 9.

The President’s Award was presented to Karen Morris in recognition of her exceptional service to TAA. The award was given by TAA Council President Steven Barkan. In honoring her, Barkan said: “Not only was Karen a wonderful leader of the organization while she was president, but she was a terrific advisor and ‘wise counsel’ for me as we faced new questions during my tenure. Over the past two years, Karen has continued to chair and serve on key committees of TAA, leading the Council of Fellows Committee, and establishing the Awards committee that determines our Council Award winners.”

“Karen also chaired an ad hoc committee formed last year to examine publishing practices to look into whether and how authors’ roles or compensation are being eroded by new contracting approaches that some publishers are deploying as they struggle to cope with today’s publishing environment.”

The Mike Keedy Award was presented to Lorraine Papazian-Boyce in recognition of her enduring services to authors. Lorraine is a frequent contributor to the online member community and has contributed several samples and templates to the Templates and Samples Library. Lorraine is often one of the first members to offer help, advice, or assistance when requested.

The Norma Hood Award was presented to Stephen Gillen in recognition of his devotion and commitment to TAA, particularly as demonstrated by works performed outside the limelight. Steve is known as a level-headed member of Council where he chairs the Personnel Committee, and he is one of TAA’s most highly regarded regular conference speakers. He also donated his time and expertise to two TAA-published books, Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts, where he is the sole author, and Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide, where he authored the section on contracts.

The Paul Anderson Award was presented to Felicia Moore-Mensah in recognition of her exceptional efforts in promoting the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. This is given in recognition each year to an individual who helps raise the profile of TAA in the authoring community and among their own colleagues. Felicia has contributed much to TAA over the years, through promoting TAA to her colleagues and students, presenting sessions at the TAA annual conference, serving as a mentor, contributing to the TAA newsletter, and most notably, she was instrumental in establishing and now maintaining TAA’s active partnership with the Sisters of the Academy Institute (SOTA). A TAA chapter for six years, SOTA’s mission is to facilitate the success of black women in the Academy.

The Franklin Silverman Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to June Jamrich Parsons in recognition of a career of excellence in authoring and of support and service to authors. June is a prolific author with a long career of well-regarded publications in her field. She is a regular speaker at the TAA conference, is a member of the TAA Council of Fellows, and serves on two TAA Committees: the Council of Fellows committee, and the Publishing Practices Committee. She actively participated in designing the recent textbook publishing survey, and in analyzing the results. She regularly reports on the state of the book publishing industry, and has conducted other surveys of TAA members and authors.