Book dedication examples for your parents
A dedication to your parents works best when it names what they gave you together, such as a house full of books, a quiet place to write, or their stubborn faith in you. Below are examples sorted by tone. Choose one to see it on the page, or write your own.
By the Proselis team · Updated
Short dedications to your parents
For Mom and Dad.
To my parents, my first readers.
For my parents, who made room for this.
For Mom and Dad, with everything.
Heartfelt dedications to your parents
For my parents, who filled our house with books and never once asked what I would do with an English degree.
To Mom and Dad, who gave me a desk, a door that closed, and the belief that I had something to say.
For my parents, who worked so I could dream. They never once called it dreaming.
To Mom and Dad. Everything good in this book started at your kitchen table.
For my parents, Ruth and Samuel, who taught me that a story is a gift you give away.
Funny dedications to your parents
For my parents, who will each claim to be the one I got this from.
To Mom and Dad, who still don’t know what I do all day. Now you do.
For my parents. Please don’t read chapter nine.
For Mom and Dad, who are about to find out what I was doing in my room all through high school.
Dedications to parents in a blended family
These suit families made by marriage and by choice as well as by birth.
For Mom, Dad, and Carol, who made one family out of two.
To my mother and my stepfather, who both showed up for everything.
For the parents who raised me, by birth and by choice.
How do you dedicate a book to both parents?
Name them together in one line, such as “For Mom and Dad” or “To my parents,” so neither one comes second. If they each gave you something different, a short line for each also works.
How do you include stepparents in a dedication?
Name everyone who raised you, in whatever order feels fair to your family. “For the parents who raised me” includes everyone without ranking them. If a name would cause hurt, the general wording is the kinder choice.
Where does the dedication go?
In a printed book, the dedication gets its own right-hand page after the copyright page, usually centered about a third of the way down. Some books share that page with the epigraph. In an ebook, it comes right after the copyright page.
How long should a dedication be?
Most are one or two lines. Anything longer usually belongs in the acknowledgments at the back, where you can thank everyone by name.
Questions
Should Mom or Dad come first?
There’s no rule. Most people use the order they say out loud, and “Mom and Dad” is the most common. Pick one order, and keep it the same in the acknowledgments.
What if my parents are divorced?
You can still name both in one line, or you can give each parent a line of their own. A separate line for each can feel more respectful when they would rather not be paired.
Can I dedicate a book to more than one person?
Yes. Name them together, as in “For Maya and Leo,” or give each person a line. If the list grows past three or four names, move your thanks to the acknowledgments.
Do I have to include a dedication?
No. Many books have none. Leave it out if nobody comes to mind, because a forced dedication shows.
Should the dedication be in italics?
It’s common but not required. Most dedications are centered and set in italic or small type so they stand apart from the text.
Give your dedication its own page
Proselis has a dedication page ready in its Front Matter menu, so your dedication lands in the right place in your EPUB and print PDF. Writing is free. Publishing a book as an EPUB and a print-ready PDF is a one-time $20.