Book Dedication Page Examples UK (2026): 20 Templates You Can Steal

Last reviewed by Robert Prime — July 2026

Quick Answer: A dedication goes on its own page (page v, after the copyright page), runs 1–3 sentences, and is personal. It's not a thank-you list — that's the acknowledgements. The best dedications are short and genuine. Twenty copy-paste examples below.

Table of Contents

• Where the dedication page goes
• Dedication vs acknowledgements
• The 20 templates
• How to choose the right one
• Formatting the dedication page
• Common mistakes
• Frequently asked questions
• Final thoughts

Where the dedication page goes

In standard UK book layout:

1. Half-title page (i)
2. Blank or "Also by" (ii)
3. Full title page (iii)
4. Copyright page (iv) — see our copyright page template
5. Dedication page (v) ← here
6. Blank (vi)
7. Table of contents or epigraph (vii)
8. Chapter 1 begins (page 1, always right-hand)

The dedication is always on a recto (right-hand) page. It sits alone — no other text on the page. Centred vertically and horizontally, or placed in the upper third of the page.

Dedication vs acknowledgements

These are different things, and they go in different places.

You can have both, one, or neither. Most published books have at least a dedication.

The 20 templates

For a partner or spouse

1. The classic

For [Name].
Always.

2. The specific

For [Name], who read every draft, made the tea,
and never once asked when it would be finished.

3. The romantic

For [Name] — the best story I've ever been part of.

For parents

4. The grateful

For Mum and Dad, who filled the house with books
and never told me to get a proper job.

5. The understated

For my parents, who made this possible
in more ways than they know.

6. The specific (single parent)

For Mum — who raised three of us on her own,
and still found time to read to us every night.

For children

7. The hopeful

For [Child's name].
One day you'll be old enough to read this.
I hope it makes you proud.

8. The playful

For [Child's name] and [Child's name],
who gave me the best reason in the world
to finish something.

9. The newborn

For [Child's name], who arrived halfway through Chapter 12
and rearranged every priority I had.

For a friend or mentor

10. The mentor

For [Name], who saw it before I did.

11. The friend

For [Name] — who said "just write the bloody thing"
and was right, as usual.

For a community or group

12. The profession

For every self-published author
who's been told it doesn't count.
It counts.

13. The readers

For the readers who took a chance on a name
they didn't recognise. This one's for you.

14. The specific community

For the nurses on Ward 7 at [Hospital],
who kept me alive long enough to finish this.

Memorial dedications

15. The memorial (simple)

In memory of [Name]
(1952–2024)

16. The memorial (with context)

For [Name], who didn't get to read this one.
You would have hated the ending. I miss you.

17. The memorial (parent)

For Dad, who always said I had a book in me.
You were right. I wish you were here to hold it.

Humorous dedications

18. The self-deprecating

For [Partner's name],
who married a writer and has only regretted it twice.
So far.

19. The pet

For [Dog/cat's name],
the only member of this household who sat with me
through every writing session without complaint.
Well — mostly without complaint.

20. The honest

For everyone who asked "how's the book going?"
Here. It went.

How to choose the right one

Fiction: Dedications 1–3 (partner), 10–11 (friend/mentor), or 18–20 (humorous) work well. Fiction dedications tend to be short and slightly cryptic — one or two lines.

Non-fiction: Dedications 4–5 (parents), 12–14 (community), or 10 (mentor) suit non-fiction's more purposeful tone. If the book is about a specific topic, dedicating it to the people affected by that topic is powerful (Template 14).

Memoir: Memorial dedications (15–17) are common. So are dedications to the subject of the memoir. If you're writing about your own life, dedicating it to the people who lived it with you (Templates 2, 4–6) feels natural.

Debut novel: Templates 4 (parents), 11 (the friend who pushed you), or 20 (the honest one) are common first-book choices.

Children's book: Templates 7–9 work perfectly. Children's book dedications are almost always to the author's own children or young family members.

Formatting the dedication page

The dedication page is typographically simple:

Font: Same as body text (e.g. Garamond 11pt) or one size up (12pt)
Style: Italic is traditional but not required
Alignment: Centred
Vertical position: Upper third of the page, or centred vertically
Line spacing: 1.5 or generous single spacing

No heading needed. Don't write "Dedication" at the top — the reader knows what it is from its position. The text stands alone.

If the dedication is very short (one line), centre it vertically on the page. If it runs to 2–4 lines, place it in the upper third.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1: Confusing the dedication with the acknowledgements. The dedication is for one person (or a small group) and runs 1–3 sentences. The acknowledgements thank everyone who helped make the book and run 200–500 words. See our acknowledgements template for the distinction.

Mistake 2: Writing a long dedication. If your dedication needs a paragraph, it's probably an acknowledgement in disguise. The best dedications are short enough to read in one breath.

Mistake 3: Putting the dedication after the table of contents. In UK convention, the dedication goes before the table of contents (page v, after the copyright page). Putting it after pushes your content further from the start.

Mistake 4: Adding "Dedication" as a heading. The convention is to let the text speak for itself. "For Sarah" is a dedication. "Dedication: For Sarah" is redundant.

Mistake 5: Dedicating a book to someone without telling them. Surprises are lovely. But if the dedication references something private, personal, or potentially uncomfortable, give the person a heads-up before publication.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to have a dedication page?

No. Plenty of published books skip the dedication entirely. It's optional, and if you don't feel strongly about dedicating the book to someone specific, leaving it out is better than forcing one.

Can I dedicate different editions to different people?

Yes — and some authors do. The first edition might be dedicated to a partner; a later edition, published after a major life event, might carry a different dedication. Each edition's copyright page should note it's a new edition.

Can I dedicate a book to myself?

You can. "To me, for finally finishing" is honest and has precedent. Whether it lands well depends on tone — self-deprecating humour (Template 20) works; earnest self-dedication may feel odd.

Should the dedication mention the person's relationship to me?

Optional. "For Sarah" is clean. "For my wife, Sarah" adds context the reader might appreciate. "For Sarah Jane Mitchell, my wife of seventeen years, mother of our three children" belongs in the acknowledgements, not the dedication.

Can I change the dedication after publishing?

On KDP, yes — you can upload a new interior file at any time. The updated version replaces the old one. But anyone who already purchased the ebook won't automatically receive the update.

Final thoughts

The dedication page is one of the smallest decisions in your book and one of the most personal. Pick the person the book is really for, write two lines, and move on.

Once your front matter is sorted — dedication, copyright page, title page — the thing that determines whether the book looks professional or self-published is the interior formatting. Margins, fonts, headers, chapter breaks. Run a free KDP Readiness Score on your formatted file to check what KDP will flag, or let us handle the formatting from £69 with a 3-day turnaround.

— Robert publishing.co.uk