At the end of Allegient, Veronica Roth writes: “To me, the acknowledgements page is a place for me to say, as sincerely as possible, that I don’t prosper, in life or in books, because of my own strength or skill alone. This series may have only one author, but this author wouldn’t have been able to do much of anything without the following people.”
Working at Scholastic opened my eyes to see just how many people are involved in publishing a book. That may be why I started reading the “acknowledgments page” at the end of books…something I would have skipped a few years ago. As someone in the publishing industry, it’s fun to see names I recognize at the end of an amazing book. And as a reader, I appreciate feeling that extra connection to the book and the author.
Below, I’ve rounded up a few memorable acknowledgment lines:
“A huge thanks to my editor and uber-mensch, David Levithan, who, years ago, said, ‘A plane full of beauty queens crashes on a deserted island. And…GO!’
Likewise, I must thank AnnMarie Anderson, who said, even before David, ‘A plane full of beauty queens crashes on a deserted island!’ Apparently, this phrase is said quite a bit at Scholastic…” ~Libba Bray, Beauty Queens
“All my friends who wrote me yearbook notes.
Everyone who has shared their own personal dental drama with me.
The city of San Francisco for giving me great backgrounds to draw!”
“Finally, to all the guys who told me, and my friends, that we have such great personalities, thank you for that reminder. We’ll take the congeniality award any day. You were SO not worth our time.” ~Elizabeth Eulberg, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality
“To my sister, Christine, who suffered under my teenage years and somehow never killed me.” ~Maurene Goo, Since You Asked…
“Mom and Dad, thanks for letting me have all those books when I was growing up, and letting me sit on the computer and write silly stories during summer vacations when I probably should have been pulling weeds.” ~ Marissa Meyer, Cinder
“To East Liverpool, Ohio, and East Rochester, Pennsylvania, I apologize for the mangling of geography (and bus schedule) to suit my needs. I also extend an apology to the Ohio River, which has a dam I omitted from the proceedings, due to the fact that three kids on a tiny sailboat would not have been allowed through the lock.” ~Holly Black, Doll Bones
John Green writes a numbered list of “acknowledgees” in An Abundance of Katherines, ending with #19: “The Katherines. I wish I could name them all, but (a) I lack the space, and (b) I fear the libel suits.”
“Lastly, I’d like to thank my two cats, Ash and Misty. They are pretty useless and actually were more detrimental than supportive in the creation of this book, but I felt their companionship should still be acknowledged in some say.” ~Mike Maihack, Cleopatra in Space
Do you read the acknowledgments page in a book? Share your favorites!
Acknowledgments page in Libba Bray's Beauty Queens
