If you received my newsletter last week, you’ll know that I shared a sneak peek of one of my very favourite pages of The Book Of Secrets (Ateban Cipher #1) – the dedication. That’s it, over on the left.
Why is this one of my favourite pages in the book? Simply because it’s one of my favourite pages in every book I read.
The book dedication is a place for an author to write a few words that speak volumes to one person, or to many people.
They’re often special messages for family members or friends, or they’re a place to make the book personal and special for an ‘ideal’ reader.
Sometimes they’re just for fun – or very funny.
Here are ten of my favourites.
“To Grandma, for being my first editor and giving me the best writing advice I’ve ever received: “Christopher, I think you should wait until you’re done with elementary school before worrying about being a failed writer.”
– The Land Of Stories, Chris Colfer
“To my wonderful readers: sorry about that last cliff-hanger. Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA. But, seriously, I love you guys.”
– House Of Hades, Rick Riordan
“This is presented as a work of fiction and dedicated to nobody.”
– Post Office, Charles Bukowski
“This book is for my parents, who tried.”
– I was a child, Bruce Eric Kaplan
“To my wife Marganit and my children Ella Rose and Daniel Adam without whom this book would have been completed two years earlier.”
– An Introduction to Algebraic Topology, Joseph J. Rotman
“For Colin Firth, You’re a really great guy but I’m married, so I think we should just be friends.”
– Austenland, Shannon Hale
“My first stepfather used to say that what I didn’t know would fill a book. Well, here it is.”
– This Boy’s Life, Tobias Wolff
“What can I say about a man who knows how I think and still sleeps next to me with the lights off?”
– Dark Places, Gillian Flynn
“Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR.”
– The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
and my absolute favourite…
“For the girls with messy hair and thirsty hearts.”
– Tiger Lily, Jody Lynn Anderson
In the meantime, I am currently working on the dedication for The Book Of Answers (Ateban Cipher #2), which will come out in March 2018. I look forward to sharing that one with you when the time is right!
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Do you read book dedications? Do you have a favourite? Please share in the comments!
Thanks Allison! I always read the dedication, it’s so good when you find one like these. It feels a bit like a special joke or message between me and the author, because I bothered to look. Like a wink.
Love all these. Especially the Gillian Flynn one and the dedication to the grandmother. I love reading pithy dedications and longer acknowledgments at the end. Makes me appreciate how many people are involved from incubation to publication.
Thanks Jessica!
Ooh I love all of these! I always read the book dedications but cant say that I’ve ever come across any like these.
🙂