TAA announces 2008 Texty, McGuffey Award winners

Download Ceremony Program PDF

The Text and Academic Authors Association has selected seven textbooks to receive a 2008 Textbook Excellence Award ("Texty"), and four textbooks to receive a 2008 William Holmes McGuffey Longevity Award ("McGuffey"). Two textbooks, Governing States & Localities, by Kevin B. Smith, Alan Greenblatt, and Michele Mariani, and Experiencing the Lifespan, by Janet Belsky, tied for a Texty in the College Humanities/Social Sciences category. The awards were presented during a special session at the 2008 TAA Conference in Las Vegas on June 21, "TAA Awards Ceremony: Standing Out From the Competition".

Download TAA PDF press release listing 2008 winners and judges' comments

The Texty winners for 2008 are:

• Materials Chemistry, 1st ed., by Bradley D. Fahlman, published by Springer (College Physical Sciences category)
• Fitness for Life: Middle School, 1st ed., Charles B. Corbin, Guy C. Le Masurier, and Dolly D. Lambdin, published by Human Kinetics Publishers (El-Hi Communication/Education/Performing Arts/Visual Arts category)
• Computer Security: Principles and Practice, 1st ed., by William Stallings and Lawrie Brown, published by Prentice Hall (College Computer Science/Engineering category)
• Governing States & Localities, 2nd ed., by Kevin B. Smith, Alan Greenblatt, and Michele Mariani , published by CQ Press (College Humanities/Social Sciences category —TIE)
• Experiencing the Lifespan, 1st ed., by Janet Belsky, published by Worth Publishers (College Humanities/Social Sciences category —TIE)
• Writing for Life, 1st ed., by D. J. Henry, published by Pearson Education/Longman (College Language/Literature category)
• Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3rd ed., by Jay Withgott and Scott Brennan, published by Pearson Education, Benjamin Cummings (College Life Science category)

The McGuffey winners for 2008 are:

• Principles of Accounting, 10th ed., by Belverd E. Needles, Jr., Marian Powers, and Susan V. Crosson, published by Hougton Mifflin Company College Edition (College Accounting/ Business/ Economics/ Management category)
• Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 7th ed., by Daniel C. Harris, published by W.H. Freeman & Co. (College Physical Sciences category)
• Fundamentals of Logic Design, 5th ed., by Charles H. Roth, published by Thomson-Engineering (College Computer Science/Engineering category)
• Grassroots with Reading, 9th ed., by Susan Fawcett, published by Houghton Mifflin Company (College Language/Literature category)

2008 Texty, McGuffey authors share award-winning advice:

Bradley D. Fahlman, author of Materials Chemistry, 1st ed.:

"The process of writing my first textbook was an incredible learning experience. Based on this limited experience, I offer the following words of advice to aspiring authors:

Choose your potential publisher wisely. From speaking with textbook authors from potential publishers, you can get a great deal of information regarding the competitiveness of your contract terms, as well as the level of support they received before publication (e.g., assistance with improving/re-drawing Figures, effective use of color for Figs, assistance with requesting copyright permissions from publishers, ensuring a timely process from final submission to final publication, etc.), and afterwards (e.g., arranging book signing events, contacting other publishers for foreign translations, degree of online/print marketing efforts, etc.). It means a lot to work with a publisher that will offer some degree of personalized service throughout the project - especially for unseasoned book authors like myself!

Find your most creative writing time slot and consider 'busy work' to get beyond writer's block. Against the advice of some(!), I wrote my textbook while still in my tenure-track phase. Hence, I still had a research group to direct while ensuring that a significant number of grants were being funded, and high quality peer-reviewed journal articles were being published. At the early stages of the project, I followed the advice of other authors who would be most creative in the early morning. However, the progress and quality of the writing drastically improved by shifting to my most desirable timeslot - in the evenings, often until 2-3 am. I would urge all writers to think carefully about what time their most productive writing could be accomplished, so above all they can write something EVERY DAY. I definitely struggled with this, and now realize how important a daily writing schedule is; even a single day away from your book makes it harder to return. On days when I had a tough time putting down the first few words, I would begin by drawing Figures, looking up literature references and other 'busy work'. Shortly thereafter, I was in the proper mindframe to begin writing again.

Know your audience and market. Perhaps the most important part of the writing project is the initial peer-reviewed book proposal. Therein, you must identify who the target audience is, and what competitors your book will have. It is essential that the author always write with these initial responses in mind."

Charles B. Corbin, Guy C. Le Masurier, and Dolly D. Lambdin, co-authors of Fitness for Life: Middle School, 1st ed.:

Charles Corbin:

"My first text was published in 1968. My current co-authors (Greg Welk, Will Corbin, and Karen Welk) and I are now completing the 15th edition. The success of this book, and others that I have written with (Ruth Lindsey, Guy Le Masurier, and Dolly Lambdin), is due to a variety of factors. The AUTHOR acronym below is used to help others remember some of the things that I think have helped me to be successful as an author.

• A - Anticipate trends. Look to the future and help your readers know what is ahead. A unique book must lead the way--not follow.
• U - Write for understanding. Write to clarify--not to confuse. Make difficult ideas understandable.
• T - True passion. I believe in what I write. I want others to know the importance of my subject matter. Passion matters.
• H - Hard work. Many have told me that they could write a book, but only a few have done it. Hard work is a must for successful authors.
• O - Others. You can't do it by yourself. Choose good co-authors. Select a good company and find good editors.
• R - Research. Base your work on good science and theory. Good books are well documented and factually correct."

Guy Le Masurier:

"A friend of mine used to say, 'anything worth doing is worth doing poorly!' I use this quote to remind me that if something is worth doing I should go out and do it to the best of my abilities. It won't be perfect the first time, but I will learn how to improve from my errors and from others who I encounter in along the way. Conversely, if you try to make it perfect the first time you probably won't ever finish."

Dolly Lambdin:

"The best advice I can give about writing a quality textbook is to work with great co-authors like Chuck and Guy and a wonderful publishing house like Human Kinetics. We had a great team whose members had different strengths, respected each other's contributions, and were willing to challenge each other's thinking. Textbook writing experience and content expertise coupled with lots of practical schoolhouse experience helped us ensure that quality content was delivered in a form that would be useful to students and teachers."

William Stallings and Lawrie Brown, co-authors of Computer Security: Principles and Practice, 1st ed.:

William Stallings:

"Establish a Web presence for your book and be open to input from instructors and students. The feedback I get from this source has improved my books significantly."

Lawrie Brown:

As any academic knows, preparing suitable material for presentation to students takes many many hours of, mostly unseen, work. This is even more true when it comes to translating this material into a text, that has to stand on its own without last minute support and comment from its creator.

The author needs to be very familiar with the material, to have carefully researched and checked the details being presented. It must be presented in a logical sequence, guiding the students through the complexities of the subject content as the text evolves. For this it is very useful to have taught courses on the material, and hence have some awareness of where the traps and pitfalls are, and the learning blockages that students will likely encounter.

Before tackling writing a text, I found it very useful to be involved in the development of their support material, such as creating the slides to accompany a text. I am very grateful to William Stallings for the opportunity to do this for several of his texts.

Last, but certainly not least, having a deeply knowledgeable and experienced co-author in William Stallings was invaluable. Including from the perspective of guidance on how to structure and write the content, critique on the drafts, and more generally in providing advice on the publication process. The feedback from my co-author and the other reviewers was very useful. While you may not agree with all issues raised, you do need to carefully consider them all, and decide what response and changes might be needed to improve the writing and presentation."

Kevin B. Smith, author of Governing States & Localities, 2nd ed.:

"My authoring advice:

• Writing is as much about organization and discipline as creativity. Schedule time for research and writing every single day.
• Deadlines are your friend. Honor them.
• Editing and writing are two different skills. Find a good editor and appreciate the heck out of them."

Janet Belsky, author of Experiencing the Lifespan, 1st ed.:

"Here are a few tips about writing the best possible book: Maybe it's my training as a clinical psychologist, but when I sit down to write, I automatically put myself into a reader's head. How can I present this concept or describe this research so it comes alive in the clearest, most captivating way? Captivating readers, as you all know, means telling a good story. So I structure my book to unfold like a conversation. When I define a term or explore a study in depth, I always use a creative analogy or real life example to concretely bring the material home. Rather than providing formal summary sections in the middle of each chapter (which can be boring), I judiciously garnish the narrative with photos and applied tables tailored to vividly illustrate the major points. I'm not afraid to get personal — talking about my feelings, asking readers to question the findings, encouraging them to think more deeply about their own lives. My topic, lifespan development, lends itself to this down-home, narrative approach. However, in writing about any subject, you can't go wrong if you keep this mindset: "I want to tell students about the exciting findings in my field". Finally, respect your audience. True, they know nothing about your topic, but assume your conversational partners are basically just as intelligent as you. Here is how I've approached my writing career:

Firstly, I make writing each book my main priority. Therefore, in my academic life, I try (albeit with limited success) to divest myself of almost all commitments but teaching. Family and this book come first (hopefully in that order, but, unfortunately, not always). It's frightening to look out over a blank expanse of nothing. So when I begin a chapter I don't dally excessively over the outline. I force myself to start writing, knowing that I'll be anxious, and keep telling myself: "Eventually you can do this thing". Understand that you will need to rewrite each line again and again and again. Be brave enough to cut large sections of your favorite prose when you find that a chapter is meandering. Expect negative reviews and — within reason — listen to every critique. Plan your book to take twice as long as you initially planned. Experiencing the Lifespan, was supposed to take three years. It actually took eight. Feel free to fantasize about the final product, but try to focus mainly on enjoying the process. Here is a final bit of advice: This is a wonderful way to spend your life!"

D.J. Henry, author of Writing for Life, 1st. ed.:

"Although Writing for Life is not my first textbook, advice about writing is something I still feel more comfortable seeking than giving. The following insights help me keep my writing life as a textbook author in perspective:

Have faith in your calling. An effective textbook is simply the extension of an effective teacher. That same passion that called you to teach will serve you well as a textbook author. To write, like to teach, is to serve. A textbook author must be open to the opinions of many others (such as editors, reviewers, and adopters) yet still maintain the veracity of his or her vision. I always find the balance when I ask 'Does this [input] help the greater good?' If it does, I let go of ego to take hold of the good advice. If not, I begin a dialogue to win consensus.

Serve both of your audiences. A textbook author really writes for two audiences: the teacher and the student. An effective textbook addresses the needs of both the expert and the novice in the field. Infuse your textbook with current content, best teaching practices, and engaging activities. My goal is to inspire both teacher and student!

Determine to persevere. Before I began writing, I held a romantic notion of the writer's life. Now, I know to expect long hours, countless revisions, stress-inducing deadlines, and unexpected glitches. When discouragement threatens, take heart: the moment will pass, and nothing is wasted. Every obstacle overcome, every moment on task, every stroke of your keyboard brings you wisdom."

Jay Withgott, co-author of Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3rd ed. :

"I consider myself still to be learning, but I will offer a few things (in no particular order) that have worked for me so far...

• Do it because you love it. As with anything in life, you can write a great textbook only if you relish the day-to-day work. Seek out top-notch people with whom to work. Successful books require dedicated teamwork among author(s), editors, publisher, marketing people, sales representatives, faculty contributors, and more. Write for the student, and solicit feedback from students and professors alike. Use metaphors from everyday life in your writing to clarify difficult concepts. Take the time to be meticulous; it does matter, and it DOES get noticed. Don't simply synthesize and present information. Our job is to find ways to do this that are both accessible and inspiring. Press your publisher to commission as many reviews (from both specialist researchers and generalist instructors) as you can handle. You can never have too much feedback. I am often amazed at how after 10 reviews of the same material, the 11th reviewer brings up something very important that everyone else had missed. And remember that reviews also boost awareness of your book among professors. Get to know your publisher's sales representatives and offer to help them anytime they need it. The book you help them sell may be your own!
• Think hard about how to make your supplements and website content useful, and work with your publisher as closely on these as your time will allow.

Belverd E. Needles, Jr., and Marian Powers, co-authors of Principles of Accounting, 10th ed.:

We developed Principles of Accounting using what at the time was a unique pedagogical approach to beginning accounting. The most valuable action on the part of the author team for the long-run success of Principles of Accounting was to establish strong relationships with the teachers of the beginning accounting course both to educate them about our approach but also to help them become better teachers. We did this in many ways. For the first edition, Bel Needles personally traveled to more than 60 colleges and universities and wrote more than 5,000 letters to faculty over the next several years in support of the sales staff. Later, at a time when accounting education was undergoing significant change, we took six weeks and traveled to 45 schools to learn how instructors were reacting to the changes.

Over the years, we developed a database of instructors who taught from our book and started a journal, Accounting Instructor's Report, now in its 23nd year, to publish innovative pedagogical works devoted to the beginning accounting course. Perhaps most importantly, we established an annual, invitational Conference on Accounting Education devoted to developing faculty who teach beginning accounting. This two-day high-quality professional development course for accounting instructors is taught by our author team but with no sales pitches for our books. Each year, we invite the best teachers we can find without regard to what texts they currently use but with a limit of one person per school. Only about 25 percent of those attending use our books. Now in its 25th year thanks to the generous support of our publisher Houghton Mifflin Company, this conference has provided us with extensive face-to-face contact more than 2,500 accounting instructors who deal with the day-to-day challenges of teaching beginning accounting. These faculty contacts help us identify issues, trends, and technology useful in developing each new edition of our textbooks."

Susan V. Crosson, co-author of Principles of Accounting, 10th ed.:

"Authoring is a logical application of my mission as a professor: To create a learning process as individual as each student requires to master course content and actively apply, with confidence what's learned. I want students to have the best possible resources to learn, no matter what their learning style. I want to support full-time and part-time faculty with the solid teaching materials, provide course innovation guidance, and facilitate the acceptance and thoughtful use of new learning platforms and ideas. Authoring allows this pursuit of excellence. And, the trust that faculty and students place in the textbook and its authors is a profound motivator for me to do my very best when writing print-based or technology-based resources."

Susan Fawcett, author, Grassroots: The Writer's Workbook, 9th ed.:

"When my developmental writing students in the South Bronx just weren't learning from existing textbooks, I started making up my own sheets. I'd run home, invent a lesson, and run back to class to test it. The students loved the material, and they were learning. One day a sales rep visited our writing lab, where tutors were using my stapled sheets to work with students, and colleagues stopped by to grab handfuls of the sheets. The rep said, 'You've got a textbook that could change English composition, and you're giving it away, you bananahead.' From this nearly accidental birth of Grassroots and its subsequent editions, I learned these principles I'd like to share.

1. Class test your material. A good textbook is all about what engages students and helps them learn. The way to find out what works is to try it in the classroom.

2. Trust your ideas. No one was more astounded than I when Grassroots, written for a handful of diverse students in the South Bronx, began selling all over the U.S.. From this, I learned a valuable lesson: Don't underestimate your own ideas. Don't think, "Gee, if I thought of this, somebody else must have thought of it already." Not true. Many important innovations seem obvious to the person who discovers them—and afterwards, to many people.

3. Stay current. Once your book is up and running, rethink it thoroughly with every revision. Your publisher just wants a new edition, so you must be the guardian of pedagogical integrity. Make changes that keep your book alive and fresh, that apply new trends and technologies in ways that serve your highest teaching goals."

Charles H. "Chuck" Roth, author of Fundamentals of Logic Design, 5th ed.:

"One of the reasons my textbook has been very successful is that I revised it many times based on the feedback I received from students. I originally wrote the text for a self-paced course that has no lectures and the students were tested on each chapter. I carefully analyzed the test results and used this feedback to revise the text. Based on the methods I used when writing and revising the textbook, I offer the following advice:

• Write behavioral objectives that specify what your students should be able to do after they study your textbook.
• Test your students to see if they have mastered these objectives.
• Analyze the test results to determine what types of problems they are having.
• Assume that if the students are not learning, the problem is with the textbook, not with the students.
• Revise the relevant sections of the book and add appropriate exercises.
• Repeat the test and revise cycle until you are satisfied that the students can meet the stated objectives by studying your text."

Daniel C. Harris, author of Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 7th ed.:

"A good textbook shares the attributes of a good teacher who has (i) deep understanding of the subject, (ii) unbounded enthusiasm, humor, and the ability to communicate excitement, (iii) clarity and precision of thought and word, (iv) the ability to place himself or herself in the mind of a student new to the subject, and (v) the desire to show the importance and application of the subject.* The last point addresses the question 'Why should I learn this subject?'

My goals when I first wrote Quantitative Chemical Analysis were to be interesting and to cover a sufficient range of topics in sufficient depth and detail. The first goal was to be interesting.

I try to select a concrete example to introduce each new topic. I typically select or create an illustration before I can write about a subject. Writing is centered around the illustration. As much as possible, I select real experimental results for illustrations.

When I leaf through a book or a periodical, it is a picture that captures my attention and makes me stop to read. A picture or diagram tends to be what we recall best.

A critical attribute of good textbook writing is keeping the ratio of words to ideas within an optimum range. An author can neither afford to be verbose nor too terse. Textbook manuscripts that I have reviewed often err toward verbosity. Each time I resume writing, I tend to reread what I have written and ask myself 'Can I say this more clearly?' 'Can my words be misinterpreted?' 'Will my language be understood by a non-native English reader?' I deliberately try to delete every word that can be deleted from a sentence without losing the meaning of that sentence. Shorter is always better.

When I write, I try to:

• First, get their attention. Begin with some subject or example that captures the reader's interest.
• Get to the heart of a matter immediately.
• Explain everything and don't assume much prior knowledge on the part of the reader. Avoid superficial explanations. I would rather omit a topic than not explain it well enough. Discussion must be at a level that the student understands.
• Use one idea in each paragraph. To start a new idea, start a new paragraph.
• Break the writing into small sections. It is easier to digest a small section and there is a sense of accomplishment when we finish reading each section. In some books, it is appropriate to place a test of comprehension at the end of each section.

Students deserve immediate feedback after working to solve a problem. I include answers to almost all of the problems at the back of the book. Some teachers complain that only half of the answers should be in the book, but I have never heard this complaint from a student.

An author must decide how much to reflect current practices of other authors and how much to break new ground. Advances depend on bold authors breaking new ground, but a book that deviates too far from the beaten path is less likely to be commercially successful. We tend to teach as we were taught. This tendency inhibits teachers from adopting a book that is too far from the mainstream. In my field of analytical chemistry, no text is suitable for all audiences. A 'focused' text reflects mainly what the author covers in his or her own course. The more widely useful "menu" text treats far more topics than any one course can cover. Teachers select topics from the menu based on course syllabus and personal interest. The menu text has a significantly wider market and more reference value than the focused text.

When you listen to a good teacher, you sense his or her enthusiasm and excitement. An author's enthusiasm should come across in the writing. A little spontaneous humor in a textbook is appreciated and might wake up a reader at the least expected moment.

My wife is my best critic. I often listen to her."

* Attributes (i) to (iv) of a good teacher were stated by C. Thyagaraja, Caltech News, 2000, 34[2], 11.

On Winning a 2008 Texty or McGuffey Award:

Bradley D. Fahlman, author of Materials Chemistry, 1st ed.:

"I am truly honored and blessed that my textbook has been selected for a 2008 Texty and will be added to the impressive collection of works recognized by the TAA. It is always gratifying to be acknowledged by one's peers, especially on a work that consumed so much of my time! Indeed, writing this text would not have been possible without the support of my family and faculty/administrator colleagues at Central Michigan University, who created an environment where this type of activity is encouraged and highly regarded. There is no question that my interaction with Barb Finlayson-Pitts, Bill Evans, and John Hemminger at UC Irvine also made a lasting impression, letting me know that book authorship is a worthy endeavor that may not necessarily detract from one's research productivity. I must also thank the editorial office at Springer, especially Liesbeth Mol and Herma Drees, for their support throughout the writing/publication phase, and current marketing efforts."

Springer on winning a 2008 Texty for Bradley Fahlman's textbook, Materials Chemistry:

Charles Corbin (co-authors Guy Le Masurier, and Dolly Lambdin) author of Fitness for Life: Middle School, 1st ed.:

"My coauthors and I are honored to have been selected to be recipients of the 2008 Texty Award for our book Fitness for Life: Middle School. I have been a long time member of TAA and it is especially important to be recognized by peers from a variety of academic areas. No award can be more meaningful than one from other of successful authors. I do want to give credit to Ruth Lindsey, my first co-author, who helped me so much along the way. Thanks TAA."

Scott Wikgren, HPERD Director, Human Kinetics, on winning a Texty for Charles Corbin, Guy Le Masurier, and Dolly Lambdin's Fitness for Life: Middle School:

"On behalf of everyone involved with the creation of Fitness for Life: Middle School, we are deeply honored to receive the Texty Award. It is especially meaningful to us because it is based on peer evaluation. We hope this textbook will truly make a difference in the lives of middle schools students by preparing them to be physically active and healthy for a lifetime. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Text and Academic Authors Association Textbook Excellence Award program."

Tracy Dunkelberger, Executive Editor, Prentice Hall Higher Education, on winning a Texty for Computer Security: Principles and Practice:

"We are extremely excited and proud that Bill Stallings and Lawrie Brown received the Texty award for their new textbook, Computer Security Principles and Practices. This first edition is a powerful demonstration of Bill and Lawrie's collective command of the subject matter and superior writing style."

William Stallings, author of Computer Security: Principles and Practice, 1st ed.:

"I thank the judges for their consideration of our book. The quality of the book reflects the unusually large number of professional and academic reviewers who generously gave detailed feedback to improve the manuscript."

Kevin B. Smith, author of Governing States & Localities, 2nd ed.:

"I'm delighted and honored to receive this recognition, and would like to acknowledge the efforts of all the folks at CQ Press who nurtured this project from the beginning."

Michele Mariani Vaughn, co-author of Governing States and Localities, 2nd. ed.:

Erin Snow, Associate Marketing Manager, College Division, CQ Press, on winning a Texty for Governing States & Localities:

"We are delighted that Governing States and Localities has won a 2008 Texty! This book is a unique collaboration between an academic and journalists which results in an engaging book that gives students an accessible entrée into the world of state and local government, and we are thrilled that TAA recognized it with their award."

Janet Belsky, author of Experiencing the Lifespan, 1st ed.:

"I was coming to terms with the idea that 'this isn't going to happen'; so when the e-mail message popped up, I thought: 'This must be the announcement of the winners.'.... Then, I realized: 'Oh, my god; it's me!'. Students and professors who currently use Experiencing the Lifespan — in all honesty — love my book. But getting potential adopters to look at a new textbook in a crowded, well established market is a real challenge. This honor will make all the difference. So I'm incredibly thankful to get the Texty and to have found TAA!"

Jessica Bayne, Executive Editor, Worth Publishers, on winning a Texty Award for Janet Belsky's Experiencing the Lifespan:

D.J. Henry, author of Writing for Life, 1st. ed.:

"Honestly, my first reaction was to sit in the delicious silence of wonder and joy—savoring those feelings that defy expression yet satisfy the heart. I thank you for the affirmation and encouragement that can only come from the recognition of one's peers. I share this honor with Pearson and Dorling Kindersley Publishers—the mission of our collaboration is to deliver best teaching and learning practices through an innovative visual design that engages a generation of learners brought up in a visual world."

Pearson/Longman, on winning a 2008 Texty for D.J. Henry's Writing for Life:

"Pearson/Longman and DJ Henry are extremely honored to have had the privilege to win this award. Everyone involved in the publication of Writing for Life are grateful and flattered by this honor. We would like to thanks the members of theText and Academic Authors Asosciation for their continued support and recognition of quality educational materials that make a difference everyday in and out of class."

Jay Withgott, co-author of Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3rd ed.:

"I feel tremendously honored to receive this award, and along with my co-author Scott Brennan, I thank the judges and TAA. After all the long hours, hard work, and attention to detail, positive feedback is refreshing and recognition from peers is gratifying. Foremost among the many people at Pearson (both Benjamin Cummings and Prentice Hall) who have helped make this book a success is our acquisitions editor, Chalon Bridges, without whom this book would not have been possible."

Pearson / Benjamin Cummings on winning a Texty for Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3rd ed.:

"Pearson / Benjamin Cummings is thrilled to see Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Third Edition, recognized with this 2008 Textbook Excellence Award,Êand would like to congratulate author Jay Withgott as well as acknowledge the superior work of its editorial, design, and production teams."

Lawrie Brown, co-author of Computer Security: Principles and Practice, 1st ed.:

"I am honored and very pleased to receive this award, and its recognition of my work by my peers. It is a wonderful and unexpected reward for the many hours of work that went into writing my part of the book. I also wish to acknowledge and thank my co-author William Stallings, without whose advice and experience this result would not have been possible."

Belverd E. Needles, Jr., and Marian Powers, authors of Principles of Accounting, 10th ed.:

"We are honored and pleased to receive this award from the Text and Academic Authors Association, an organization at least one of us has been a member of since it was founded. We want to recognize the contributions over a period that is now approaching forty years made by our former and current coauthors and by our publisher Houghton Mifflin Company. Needles/Andersen/Caldwell was the original author team for Principles of Accounting. We worked together as a team under Bel Needles' general direction for six editions. Hank Anderson, now retired and a successful vintner in California, brought a deep knowledge of the rapidly changing field of managerial accounting to our book. Jim Caldwell, now deceased, was an exceptional educator and partner with Andersen Consulting who kept us focused on the pedagogical strengths of our books. The current author team of Needles/Powers/Crosson has been together for the last four editions. Marian Powers worked in the background for many editions on all aspects of the book before becoming a valued coauthor when Jim Caldwell could no longer contribute. Thanks also to Susan Crosson, who replaced Hank Andersen on the managerial accounting portions of our books and who brings a strong background in educational technology to Principles of Accounting. We also want to thank Edward Julius, who has provided exceptional support on the study guide and other ancillaries since the beginning. Finally, our thanks go to Houghton Mifflin and the numerous individuals with whom we have worked for supporting our books."

Susan V. Crosson, author of Principles of Accounting, 10th ed.:

"Thank you for honoring my co-authors and myself with the McGuffey longevity award. It has been an honor to work with our publisher Houghton Mifflin and their wonderful editors and staff who enhance our authoring efforts with sound advice and technology innovations as we strive together to provide faculty and students with relevant teaching and learning resources."

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on winning a McGuffey for Principles of Accounting:

Susan Fawcett, author, Grassroots: The Writer's Workbook, 9th ed.:

"I let out a whoop when I won this award. That the judges are my peers, who know what it takes to write an excellent text and keep it fresh through multiple editions, deepens the honor."

Joann Kozyrev, Senior Acquisitions Editor, and Tom Ziolkowski, Senior Marketing Manager, Houghton Mifflin, on winning a McGuffey Award for the 9th edition of Grassroots with Reading:

"It has been an absolute pleasure working with Susan Fawcett on her books with Houghton Mifflin, Grassroots and Evergreen. Susan's passion for helping Developmental Writing students is an inspiration for all of us. While Susan's books have made her a very successful author, she remains focused on the challenges and needs in the Developmental Writing classroom. Susan's attention to detail, passion for keeping the content of her books current, and knowledge of solid pedagogy motivates and engages students and helps them become successful writers. We thank Susan Fawcett for her tremendous contributions to the college writing market."

Charles H. "Chuck" Roth, author of Fundamentals of Logic Design, 5th ed.:

"Winning the McGuffey award for my textbook is a special honor for me. The textbook has been widely used, not only in this country, but in several foreign countries including China, India, and Korea. Writing and then revising the book many times to provide a better educational experience for my engineering students has been one of my most important life works. I greatly appreciate all of the students, teaching assistants, and reviewers who have helped to make this book a success. The TAA awards help to emphasize textbook writing as an important scholarly activity."

Lauren Betsos, Marketing Services Coordinator, Cengage Learning, on winning a McGuffey Award for the 5th edition of Charles H. Roth's Fundamentals of Logic Design:

"Cengage Learning is very grateful to the Text and Academic Authors Association for recognizing one of our most highly esteemed authors, Charles H. Roth, for his ongoing contributions to Engineering Education. Fundamentals of Logic Design, now in its 5th edition, has demonstrated itself to be an influential resource to the academic community and we are proud to be involved in its publication and the publication of future editions. On behalf of Cengage Learning, congratulations Charles on this wonderful achievement."

Daniel C. Harris, author of Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 7th ed.:

I share the honor of receiving this award with my wife, Sally, who works on most aspects of our books, and who contributes mightily to the accuracy of the printed text. I also share this honor with the talented and inspired staff at W. H. Freeman & Co. I've been blessed with a series of extremely capable editors in acquisition, development, and production, as well as an enthusiastic marketing and support staff. Among these wonderful people, I would like to single out my long-time copy editor, Jodi Simpson—now retired—whose insight and probing questions improved the clarity and accuracy of my books.

W.H. Freeman on winning a 2008 McGuffey for Dan Harris' textbook, Quantitative Chemical Analysis:

"W.H. Freeman is thrilled that Dan Harris has been recognized by the TAA for the McGuffey Longevity Award. His Quantitative Chemical Analysis text has long been the best-seller in this market, and has been responsible for educating well over 50 percent of the chemistry majors today. As his publisher, we have been privileged to work with Dan throughout seven editions (eleven, counting his equally influential text, Exploring Chemical Analysis) and look forward to extending that privilege for many years to come. Dan is an exemplary author both in his meticulous attention to detail and his dedication to learning from his colleagues. We would be remiss if we did not also congratulate his wife Sally, whose support, contributions and dedication to the projects are a large measure of their success. We join in celebrating Dan's achievement and are extremely gratified that his authorial colleagues have awarded him this distinguished honor."

Award Winner Bios:

Kevin Smith is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been a member of this department for 14 years, serving the last seven as director of its graduate program. He received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milawukee in 1994, and his BA from Texas Tech University in 1985. In addition to the state and local government book receiving a 2008 Texty, he has also co-authored academic textbooks in American politics (The Promise and Performance of American Democracy, published by Wadsworth) and public administration (Public Administration: Power and Politics in the Fourth Branch of Government, published by Oxford University Press).

McGuffeys Awards Information

Textys Awards Information