Always Read the Acknowledgments Page

The phrase "Thank you!" typed three times on a typewriter.

Today’s post is by writer and literary consultant Grace Bialecki (@GraceBialecki).


On a recent freakishly warm February day, I walked to the library in high spirits. The reckless sunshine had banished winter’s gray and my hopes for spring were budding as I floated up the building’s stone steps. Outside the reading room, I made my usual stop at the “Pay What You Will” book cart. Amongst its treasures was a signed, hard cover copy of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Lapvona, and soon, I was its proud owner.

After a diligent hour of writing, I took a break, flipped to the back of the book, and indulged in one of my favorite pastimes. No, I’m not a sadist who starts by reading the final page—I’m an acknowledgments junkie. Moshfegh writes dark, bizarre novels, and I’ve always found her an enigmatic figure. Who would make their way to her acknowledgments?

But there were only blank pages. Two of them, the second one thicker, marking the end of the book. Impossible. I flipped to the front and then back again. She had acknowledged no one. Later, for the sake of this article and my own sanity, I checked the library’s copy. Also blank.

Frankly, I’m still shocked by this bold move, though anyone who has read Lapvona might find it a fitting end to a brutal novel. Nonetheless, this piece will continue to assume that most books have acknowledgment pages. These literary credits allow us to peer into authors’ lives—from their friends and early readers to business associates, from fellowships and residences to previous publications—and reveal the fascinating web of the publishing world.

Making connections

Yes, I’m nosy—I wanted to know who Moshfegh’s friends are. Most acknowledgment pages list early readers and supporters of the project, and show which authors are helping each other. These names lead to questions—were they in the same MFA cohort? Or was one the author’s mentor? Where do authors find their trusted rough draft readers?

On a fiction break after Lapvona, I’m now reading Major Jackson’s poetry collection Hoops where he thanks the poet, Terrance Hayes. I’m familiar with Hayes’ poems, but seeing his name along with Jackson’s endorsement is a gentle reminder for me to explore his work. It’s also an insight into Jackson’s “artistic family tree” or those artists whose work is related to his. Hoops is crafted around a series of poems entitled, “Letters to [Gwendolyn] Brooks,” which makes her an obvious addition to the family. Noticing the connections between authors is one way to start building your own artistic family tree and conceptualizing your work’s place in the literary forest. And also, it’s thrilling to see a familiar name pop up, even if it’s only an author I’ve read.

A quick gratitude practice

The language authors use to thank their friends and family is inspiration for both thank-you cards and daily life. Unlike Moshfegh’s empty pages, Jackson’s acknowledgment comes just after the table of contents. This is a sign that his appreciation is front and center, even before he writes, “A traditional bow is owed to many friends and colleagues without whose penetrating comments, critical conversations, and lasting encouragement I would have remained enthusiastically in awe yet speechless. They include…” Jackson’s poetic version of an Oscar speech is a wonderful example of how words can express thanks.

What’s more, studies from UC Berkley’s Greater Good Science Center have shown a consistent gratitude practice increases participants’ mental well-being. Obviously, we’re not all penning daily acknowledgements pages, but it’s comforting to know that this concept inherently increases happiness.

Insight into the industry

Although reading acknowledgment pages is a way to learn about the writing community, I have to admit, my interest in them originally came from practical advice. When I was querying for my first novel, a literary agent suggested I look in the back of books similar to mine. On the acknowledgments page, an author’s agent is almost always thanked, and if you’ve already done the work of reading a title from their list, you’re set up for a solid query. While this is an admittedly low-tech and time-intensive approach, I still appreciate it as a way of getting familiar with the industry and am genuinely interested in who is representing who.

The path to publishing can be traced a step further from agent to editor, since they’re usually credited as well. This shows you if the agent is selling manuscripts to the Big Five or smaller independent presses. And also, who at those houses they’re in contact with. It’s not as timely as Publishers Weekly’s Book Deals, which lists that week’s acquisitions and is the fodder for many triumphant Twitter posts, but it’s giving you the same information at no cost. Think of browsing the back pages as an alternative to the Internet’s information highway—this is the scenic, toll-free route, which offers its own views of the industry.

Inspiration for your career

In addition to thanking those who helped with their book, authors also recognize the places where they wrote it. These could be residences, fellowships, or workshops. Macdowell, Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center, Cave Canem, and Tin House are a few that often pop up. Yes, these are often prestigious places and, depending on where you are in your career, it might be a waste of time and applications fees to submit. Also, check the requirements — Cave Canem, for example, is exclusively open to Black poets. Personally, I have a tab on a messy spreadsheet of contests and residences titled, “Later.” Just because I’m years ways from these places doesn’t mean I can’t take notes and incubate dreams.

In collections of short stories and poetry, there’s also a list of publications where the pieces first appeared. First of all, this is an exciting way to discover literary magazines. And if one matches your style, a potential home for your work. Secondly, these are insights into the author’s trajectory. Where was the first poem published? How many years between it and the last? And can you see how the writer’s work has evolved?

I recently tore through Matthew Rasmussen’s poetry collection, Black Aperture. It won the 2013 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of Poets and was a National Book Award Finalist. Of course, my reductive brain assumed Rasmussen was a poetic genius who crafted this masterpiece in mere months. But its back pages reveal that this sleek and haunting collection is the result of over seven years of work. In fact, several poems appeared in their “current or previous versions” in a chapbook, Fingergun, published by Kitchen Press in 2006.

To me, this speaks volumes about the time and tenacity it takes to put together a book. For all we knew, Rasmussen did more edits even after these poems appeared in his chapbook. While it’s easy to associate these polished pieces being birthed this way, in reality, it’s years of labor that have gotten them to this point. This is all to say…

It takes a village

While Moshfegh remains a mysterious figure, I can assure you she did not write, edit, design and publish Lapvona without a single helping hand. Yes, every author must put in the hours of work at their desk to complete a project. But those hours do not happen in a void. Starting and finishing a manuscript requires emotional support—thanks to your parents, partners, and families. It requires other readers—thanks to other writers, artists, and friends. It requires time and space—thanks to grants and foundations. And then getting that manuscript into the hands of readers means thanking agents, publishers, book designers, and a marketing team.

While writers write alone, it takes a village to create a book and these final pages of gratitude are an important reminder of all that teamwork.

I’m curious to hear from the other readers out there. Do you read acknowledgment pages? And if so, what have you learned from them?

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Maria

I always read the acknowledgement pages. You can learn a lot of things, among them, like the identity of their agent, editors, and other important industry people; their inspiration; some talk about classes, teachers, mentors; ad more.

Maggie Smith

At my launch party, where 50 of my friends and family gathered to celebrate the publication of my debut, Truth and Other Lies, I decided not to read a selection from the book but instead read my 3 pages of acknowledgements. Since most of the people I mentioned were in the room, this was a wonderful (and tear-inducing) way to thank them publicly and was so much more meaningful and personal than a cold reading of some pages from the novel would have been. I’m also an avid reader of acknowledgements – you can learn a lot about an author based on who they choose to thank and why. Some thank every person under the sun, others take the opportunity to single out teachers who inspired them as a child, critique partners who read the pages over and over, or spouses who helped them carve out time to write. Because my book centered around journalists, and I was still reeling from 2018 politics, I thanked them for their “commitment to publishing the truth, no matter what the personal or professional cost.” As I said at the beginning of my remarks that night, “think of this as my Oscar speech, minus the glitz and the fancy ballgown.”

joanna elm

Wow! That is a fabulous idea to read out the acknowledgment pages. Simple but totally wonderful!

Lizzie Leigh

I SO agree with this piece and greatly appreciate it being written. I’m one of those
‘junkies’ too. And value the acknowledgements page enough to write those who’ve contributed as I’m typing up my manuscripts. But a list can be compelling or boring… the ‘how’ the contributer contributed is the fascinating bit. And my next book has the acknowledgements in rhyme, to encourage reading it!

Sheila

Sometimes the publisher decides the placement of acknowledgments. The one I work for has them in the front for academic titles and in the back for trade titles. We ask for five hundred words or fewer. Thanks for the discussion. I am also an acknowledgments reader.

Hilary Liftin

If you’re ever wondering if an author had a ghostwriter or collaborator, check the acknowledgements. Recognition here is often in a ghost’s contract. I work as a collaborator and have always felt a bit uneasy to make gratitude contractual, but it is one way for us to come out of the shadows for the industry, which is where it counts for us.

David

I at least skim the acknowledgments. Like Maria, sometimes I’m looking for the agent or editor. (The editor who’s acknowledged may, of course, not have been the ACQUIRING editor.) Now neither of my agents got me a contract–all my offers all came from direct contact. Still, it’s an avenue I explore.

Other times, like all of you, I’m just curious. I agree that when the acknowledgments say why people were important, that’s more valuable. But even “to my partner/parent/kids” warms me.

Then there are neat surprises. Sometimes they mention another book or author I will want to check out. Other times . . in reading the first book by an interesting young ethologist, I was startled to find that he acknowledged me as a SME, and lauded a newsletter related to his area of interest that I published for 30-plus years. If I hadn’t read his acknowledgements section, I wouldn’t have known!

M.E. Proctor

I also read the acknowledgements. The funniest I’ve ever read was at the back of “Spooner” by Pete Dexter. It made me laugh and inspired me. Great writing too!

L Valentine

As usual, I’m late to the party, but I read the acknowledgments pages before anything else for all the reasons mentioned by Ms. Bialecki. I like finding the names of agents I’ve followed for years to keep abreast of the novels that have won them over. I also admit to getting a little thrill when I’m mentioned. I’ll never lose hope that someday I may be able to return the honor.

David Biddle

While I’m enjoying a book I often read the Acknowledgements and other auxilliary matter. Sometimes almost like a talisman, I read and re-read. Why? I have no idea. What I really want to say though is that stepping out and thanking everyone is such a joy in so many ways. Generally, the final copy of acknowledgements happens just before galleys. You are in the home stretch. And putting that list of names down and all the thank yous statements is a perfect opportunity to put the cap on everything. (I’m about to do that with my next book after 48 years of stewing, writing, and endless revising, so I’m asking for two pages from my publisher)

Liesbet

Hi Grace,

Lovely piece – wonderfully written, unique, and super interesting.

Yes, I always read the Acknowledgment pages. For the same reasons as you mention, but mostly because I’m curious – about the wording of this section and about its contents. You also discover the writing style, creativity, and wit of authors in their Acknowledgment pages.

One of the greatest compliments I received for my travel memoir was when a reader complimented my Acknowledgement page, which has a unique introduction and a few “read-between-the-lines” remarks. Likewise, my author’s note about changing the identity of one character to protect her identity makes it stand out to whoever does the effort of reading that underrated section. 🙂

As an author, it is fun to reward readers who – like me – devour every single word in the book.

Gracie Bialecki

Liesbet,

Thank you for reading and for this lovely comment…I couldn’t agree more that this section is a place where authors can continue to let their writing shine, especially for those readers who go all the way to the back cover.