Academic publishing and research collaboration are central to knowledge production, professional identity formation, and institutional advancement in higher education. Despite extensive scholarship on publication productivity and lead authorship, the perspectives and lived experiences of academic co-authors remain underexplored, particularly through qualitative inquiry. This study examined the motivations, experiences, perceived benefits, and challenges of scholarly publishing and research collaboration among academic co-authors in the fields of science and education. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen (16) academic co-authors and analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings indicate that co-authors perceive academic publishing as a core component of their professional identity, institutional responsibility, and societal contribution. Their motivations reflect an interplay of intrinsic factors—such as curiosity, passion for learning, and commitment to knowledge advancement—and extrinsic factors, including promotion requirements and institutional expectations. Research collaboration was viewed as a strategic mechanism for collective learning, mentoring, skill development, and enhanced research quality, although participants also reported challenges related to financial constraints, time management, communication, and uncertainties in the publication process. By foregrounding co-authors’ lived experiences rather than productivity metrics or lead authorship status, this study provides a nuanced understanding of scholarly publishing and collaboration. The findings offer valuable insights for fostering ethical, inclusive, and sustainable research collaborations in higher education.