Book Dedication and Acknowledgements: Examples, Templates, and Where They Go

A book dedication is a short line near the front of a book that offers the work to someone, usually one person or a small group. The acknowledgements page is longer: it thanks the people who helped the book get written and published. One is a gift; the other is a thank-you note.

This guide covers both, since writers usually face them at the same moment, right before a manuscript goes out. You'll find 30 dedication examples sorted by who they're for, templates for acknowledgements, where each page goes, and what to avoid.

At a glance

1. A dedication is one to three lines, near the front. Acknowledgements can run a page or more, at the front or back
2. A dedication names a person; acknowledgements name everyone who helped. Don't use one to do the other's job
3. In novels, acknowledgements usually go at the back. In nonfiction, they're often at the front
4. Both spellings are correct: “acknowledgments” is standard in American English, “acknowledgements” in British English

Dedication vs. acknowledgements

Where they go in a book

The Chicago Manual of Style lists the parts of a book in a standard order. In simplified form, the front matter runs like this:

1. Half title page
2. Title page
3. Copyright page
4. Dedication
5. Epigraph (optional)
6. Table of contents
7. Foreword, preface
8. Acknowledgements (if not at the back)
9. Introduction

In novels, acknowledgements usually move to the back matter, after the last chapter, so readers reach the story faster. If you're self-publishing, you choose. If you're traditionally published, your publisher's house style decides.

If you're submitting to agents, you don't need either page yet. A submission manuscript starts with the title page and goes straight to chapter one. Standard Manuscript Format covers what that first page should look like.

How to write a book dedication

1. Decide who it's for. The first person who comes to mind usually is the one. Common choices are a partner, a parent, a child, a friend, a teacher, or someone who died.
2. Keep it short. Most dedications are one line. “For Anna” is a complete dedication.
3. Pick a tone that fits the book. A heavy literary novel can carry a solemn line. A comic fantasy can carry a joke.
4. Decide how private it is. You can use initials or a nickname only the person will recognize.
5. Read it as the person would. Would they be glad to see it? Would anyone else be hurt by it?

30 book dedication examples

These are written for this guide. Use them as patterns, and swap in your own names and details.

For a partner

For Sam, who read every draft and only fell asleep twice.
To my wife, for the coffee, the quiet and the patience.
For J., always.
To Daniel, who never once asked when I'd get a real job.
For the person who made the second chair at my desk feel like home.

For a parent

For my mother, who taught me to read and then couldn't stop me.
To Dad, who said I could, and then drove me to the library to prove it.
For my parents, Ruth and Michael Hale.
To Mum, who kept every story I wrote in a shoebox.
For my father, who would have pretended not to cry.

For a child

For Leo. You can read this when you're older.
To Maya, who asked for a story with more dragons. Here you go.
For my children, who are the reason this took four years.
To Ellie, the first person I told the ending to.
For my daughter, so she knows it can be done.

For a friend

For Kate, who said “just write the thing” until I did.
To my writing group, who saw the worst version and stayed.
For Tom, who lent me his cabin and never asked for it back.
To Priya, best reader, better friend.
For everyone at Tuesday night, every Tuesday night.

In memory

In memory of my grandmother, who told the first version of this story.
For David (1958–2023), who would have argued with every page.
In loving memory of Rose, who knew how it ended before I did.
For my brother. I finished it.
To the memory of Mr. Evans, who gave a C student an A for one essay.

Funny or unexpected

For my cat, who sat on the keyboard for most of chapter twelve.
To everyone who said I'd never finish. You were very nearly right.
For me, ten years ago. Told you.
To the night bus, where most of this was written.
For whoever is reading this in a library sale. I hope it was worth fifty cents.

How to write acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are a thank-you note to everyone who helped the book exist. The best ones are specific: they say what each person did.

1. Make a list first. Go through the whole process: who encouraged you to start, who read drafts, who answered research questions, who represented and published the book, who kept your life running while you wrote.
2. Group the names. Professional help (agent, editor, publishing team), early readers, experts and sources, family and friends. Most authors go roughly in that order, saving the most personal thanks for last.
3. Say what each person did. “Thanks to Laura” is fine. “Thanks to Laura, who told me the middle didn't work and was right” is better.
4. Keep it to a page or two. A long list of names nobody knows loses readers. Thank everyone who mattered, briefly.
5. Check spellings. A misspelled name in print is the mistake authors regret most.

Acknowledgements templates

For a novel

Thank you to [agent's name], who [what they did: saw something in an early draft, found this book a home].

Thank you to [editor's name] at [publisher], who [what they did: made the middle work, asked the question that fixed the ending], and to the whole team at [publisher], especially [names and roles].

To my early readers, [names], who [what they did].

To [expert or source], for answering my questions about [topic]. Any mistakes are mine.

To [friends or writing group], for [what they did].

And to [partner / family], for [what they did]. This book is yours too.

For a self-published book

This book had a lot of help, even without a publisher.

Thank you to [editor's name], who [what they did], and to [cover designer's name], who [what they did].

To my beta readers, [names], who read an unfinished book and told me the truth about it.

To [community, forum or writing group], where [what happened there].

To everyone who [read the serial, pre-ordered, shared the cover], thank you. You're the reason there's a finished book.

And to [family], for [what they did].

For nonfiction

This book draws on the work and generosity of many people.

I'm grateful to [interviewees or sources], who shared [what they shared]. [Institution or archive] gave me access to [material].

Thank you to [agent], [editor] and the team at [publisher] for [what they did].

[Colleagues or experts] read drafts and corrected [what they corrected]. Any errors that remain are my own.

Finally, to [family], who [what they did]. This book wouldn't exist without you.

Mistakes to avoid

Using the dedication to thank everyone. A dedication with fifteen names is acknowledgements in the wrong place. Pick one person or a few, and move the rest.

Leaving someone out. The person you forget will notice. Go through your emails and drafts to rebuild the list before you write.

Private jokes nobody else understands, at length. One inside joke can be charming. A page of them shuts readers out.

Dedicating to someone who might not want it. A new relationship, an estranged family member or a living person you've written about can make a dedication awkward. If you're unsure, ask, or use initials.

Writing it at the last minute. Acknowledgements written the night before a deadline tend to miss people. Start the list while you're still drafting.

Keeping the last pages with the book in TypeTak

TypeTak is an AI writing editor where you write alongside an agent. When the book is nearly done, what you want is for the dedication and acknowledgements to go out with the manuscript in the right place, not as a separate file you have to remember.

• Keep them as pages of their own. Write the dedication and acknowledgements as their own pages in the Manuscript, so they sit in reading order with the chapters.
• Export everything as one file. Choose the pages in Export, including the dedication and acknowledgements, and turn on single-file export. Add a cover page with your name and contact details if you need one.
• Collect names as you go. Keep a running list of people to thank on a memo while you write, so nobody falls off when the deadline comes.

Who to thank, and in what words, is yours to decide. For the other short piece of writing that sells the book, see How to Write a Book Blurb.

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