Ask your publisher to nominate your book for a 'Texty' or 'McGuffey' Award

TAA's prestigious Textbook Excellence Awards or "Textys" and McGuffey Longevity Awards or "McGuffeys" have helped winners increase the sales of their texts and gain academic recognition at their institutions. Authors do not need to be members of TAA.

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

More info on Textys: Click here
More info on McGuffeys: Click here

Texty and McGuffey entries must be officially nominated by publishers (or self-publishers), but authors can make the initial inquiry and "get the ball rolling." Authors can send TAA a nomination form, asking the association to send a form to their publisher.

The publisher (or author) must submit a copy of the work and any ancillary and supplemental materials (with some exceptions for el-hi entries) to the three individual judges who will be reviewing the text, and two copies to TAA headquarters. There is no limit to the number of entries that can be submitted. A nomination fee of $300 (which can be paid by either the publisher or the author) helps offset TAA's costs.

TAA sends press releases to appropriate journals and publications for each winner. Authors and co-authors of each winning text, as well as the book's editor or publisher, receive a plaque. TAA presents the awards to those winners attending the TAA Awards Ceremony at the association's annual conference each June. Those not present are mailed their award after the conference. Author or publishers can purchase gold Texty and McGuffey seals to place on their textbooks or promotional materials for a nominal fee.

Deadline for sending the nomination form and fee for the 2009 awards is October 15, 2008. Deadline to receive books for judging is November 15, 2008. (These deadlines can be somewhat flexible according to publication dates.)

PDF Form Downloads

McGuffey Awards
2009 Publisher Nomination Form

Texty Awards
2009 Publisher Nomination Form

TAA Awards Winners

2008 All Winners
2007 All Winners
2006 All Winners
2005 All Winners
2004 All Winners
2003 All Winners

2002-1997 Texty Winners
2002-1998 McGuffey Winners

TAA Award Logos

Download these logos to promote your award:

Download PDF version

Download PDF version

Text to use in describing the award:

Text and Academic Authors Association McGuffey Longevity (“McGuffey”) Award:
Recognizing Textbooks and Learning Materials for Excellence and Longevity
This textbook was awarded a "McGuffey Longevity Award" from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA), the only association devoted soley to serving textbook and academic authors since 1987 (www.TAAonline.net). The "McGuffey Longevity Award" recognizes works for their excellence in the areas of content, presentation, appeal, teachability, and longevity. These awards are given each year in several academic disciplines for both elementary and high school works and college titles. TAA's panel of judges are all noted textbook authors in these disciplines.

Text and Academic Authors Association Textbook Excellence (“Texty”) Award:
Recognizing Current Textbooks and Learning Materials for Excellence
This textbook was awarded a "Textbook Excellence Award" from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA) the only association devoted soley to serving textbook and academic authors since 1987 (www.TAAonline.net). The "Textbook Excellence Award" recognizes works for their excellence in the areas of content, presentation, appeal, and teachability. These awards are given each year in several academic disciplines for both elementary and high school works and college titles. TAA's panel of judges are all noted textbook authors in these disciplines.

Please link your logos to: http://www.taaonline.net/awards, or the website associated with the year that you won your award: http://www.taaonline.net/awards/2008winners.html

Silver stickers containing either the Texty or McGuffey logo can be ordered for $40 per 100. These stickers can be used on already printed textbooks taken to conferences or sent as complimentary copies. To order stickers, contact Janet Tucker at TAA headquarters at (727) 563-0020 or TextandAcademicAuthors@taaonline.net

Does winning a Texty change your life?

Winning a Text and Academic Authors Textbook Excellence Award or McGuffey award for Excellence has its benefits, say previous award winners.

Robert Christopherson, a geology author who won a 1998 Texty for his book Geosystems, said the award had its biggest impact, and produced the most feedback within his professional organizations, which mentioned it in all of their newsletters. People on his campus, he said, mentioned it as well. "I have the plaque on my writing studio wall and find that an occasional glance at it keeps me aware of the larger impact of what is going on 'out there' and that there is impact in these words that I am composing," he said. "This is an intangible, personal benefit."

Masscom author John Vivian, who won a 1996 Texty for The Media of Mass Communication, said being nominated by his publisher, Allyn & Bacon, bolstered his confidence about the company's commitment to him as an author, and to his book: "There are days, not many, but some, when I wonder whether my publisher is on my side. Being nominated by them was a signal of support that still buoys me four years later."

"The Texty probably boosted sales, but I have no measure of that," Vivian said. "One disappointment is that my publisher, new to this kind of thing, didn't seem to know how to handle it. I never saw it mentioned in marketing materials, and I don't know whether sales reps were informed. My guess is we lost some opportunities to capitalize on the award. The next time Allyn & Bacon has a Texty winner, I hope the company will follow the example of other publishers that have integrated mentions of the award into the overall promotion of the book."

Vivian, a masscom professor at Winona State University, said his dean was impressed by the award and made sure the honor was publicized locally. "The campus public relations folks put an exhibit together in a trophy case," he said. "It stayed a couple years. I think they forgot to take it down."

He said the greatest reward was being nominated by his fellow textbook authors: "What better evaluator of a textbook can there be than fellow textbook authors. This is peer review at its best."

Reading author Lee Mountain, who won a 1994 Texty for her Heritage Readers series, agrees: "The Texty Award shows that peer authors have put their seal of approval on your textbook. That denotes quality. That's why I'm proud of winning a Texty." She said probably the most significant benefit to winning the Texty is that it is evidence of quality. "Quantity is easy to establish," Mountain said. "An author can stack his/her textbooks in a pile, and an observer can count them. But quality is harder to establish."

Charles Corbin, who won a 1997 Texty for Fitness for Life, said he recommended to his editor and marketing manager that they use the gold seal stickers designating the book as a Texty winner, but he's not sure if they will or not. He mentioned winning the award in the preface of the latest edition, its 10th, which comes out in July. The publisher also mentioned it in the new flyer. "I think that those who find out about it are very impressed," Corbin said. "I'm sure it has done me some good professionally."

Bob Hammersmith, who won a 1998 McGuffey for Genetics: Laboratory Investigations, said the award was one factor in his gaining a promotion to full professor. "The department chair used the award as evidence that I deserved promotion," Hammersmith said. "It stressed the overall importance of textbooks from an academic point of view." The award plaque was also displayed in the department office.