Charles ‘Chuck’ Corbin Inducted into TAA Council of Fellows

Health and physical education textbook author Charles “Chuck” Corbin was inducted into the TAA Council of Fellows, which recognizes distinguished authors who have a long record of successful publishing. Any author whose textbook or other instructional and academic works have established his/her presence in scholarly publishing over time and who has been innovative in the presentation of material, is qualified for nomination into the TAA Council of Fellows. Induction into the Council of Fellows is the premier honor bestowed by TAA.

On behalf of the association and its Awards Committee, TAA Board President Paul Krieger, said: “I extend our warmest congratulations on your induction into the 2025 TAA Council of Fellows. This well-deserved honor recognizes not only your extraordinary accomplishments as an author, educator, and scholar but also your deep and longstanding contributions to the TAA community. Your body of work exemplifies the values and mission of TAA. It is our honor to recognize you with this distinction, and we thank you for the legacy you continue to build.”

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Christine Harrington Receives 2025 TAA Author Mentoring Award

Dr. Christine Harrington, a professor in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, has been awarded a 2025 Author Mentoring Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA).

TAA’s Authoring Mentoring Award is given to a teacher, administrator, fellow author, or other professional colleague who takes extraordinary care to encourage and advise earlier career authors.

On behalf of the association and its Awards Committee, TAA Board President Paul Krieger, said: “This honor is a testament to your unwavering dedication to mentoring emerging scholars, your generous spirit in sharing knowledge and experience, and your tireless efforts to amplify diverse voices in academic publishing.

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Steven Barkan Receives 2025 TAA Social Justice Award

Steven Barkan, textbook author and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Maine, has been awarded a 2025 TAA Social Justice Award from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA).

TAA’s Social Justice Award recognizes individuals that make a significant contribution to authoring or educating academic authors in social justice, human rights, and/or diversity, equity, and inclusion. Strong nominees have the following characteristics: have authored a work or works that address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in a meaningful way or have provided trainings or other efforts to improve how academic authors address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their writing.

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Cengage Seeking to Engage with Authors Regarding New Digital Royalty Allocations Post-Lawsuit

By Kim Pawlak, TAA Executive Director

Following ​a ​$20.9 million settlement of a class action lawsuit ​o​ver allegedly underpaid ​author royalties​, ​Cengage is now seeking to engage with its authors regarding new Digital Royalty Allocations (DRA) of royalties from digital courseware relating to their titles. Catherine Schnurr, the publisher’s director of product strategy and operations, sent letters to Cengage authors in March, asking them to contact their Author Relations Managers to schedule a meeting to discuss how the publisher has calculated their DRA in the past and how they will calculate it going forward.

In the letter, Schnurr states: “Your active participation in this process is valued and will help ensure your voice is heard, and your past efforts and future contributions are recognized.” She also said that Cengage is “now focused on strengthening our close partnership with authors,” and “intends to be as transparent as possible” about past and future DRA calculations. She added that “depending on your individual circumstances, the new calculation could result in an increase or decrease to your DRA.”

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James Morrison Awarded TAA Publication Grant

TAA member James V. Morrison, the Stodghill Professor Classics at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, has been awarded a Publication Grant from the Textbook & Academic Authors Association to cover image permission costs for his forthcoming academic book, Comedy in Literature and Popular Culture from Aristophanes to Saturday Night Live. The book will be published by Routledge in 2025.

“I was delighted to learn that I have received a $1,000 Publication Grant from TAA,” he said. “It is very generous of TAA to support this work of comparative literature and performance: the images are especially valuable for sections in the book discussing parody, satire, and caricature.”

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Writing Productivity Tip: Block Double the Time and Commit to Half

TAA member David Stehlik, an associate professor of Management and Leadership at the University of St. Francis, shared his approach to increasing writing productivity during TAA’s August 2024 Conversation Circle on the topic of productivity:

“I block double the time and commit to half. So, if I think I could write it in two hours, I book a full morning/afternoon, and then I commit to getting half of it done. It’s more realistic. When I’m on the ball, the productivity is energizing. When I’m not, it’s less debilitating.

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