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Dedication - TV Tropes

  • ️Fri Jun 20 2008

Dedication (trope)

"Every great joke needs a punchline, and The Wicker Man doesn't disappoint. After Cage meets his screaming, charbroiled death, the film ends and a title slate appears: "For JOHNNY RAMONE." Sure. I don't know why it's there, and I don't want to find out."

When a writer or show writer want to thank someone in particular, they can dedicate their work to them. Very frequent in Literature, where it's a tradition; literary dedications usually appear at the beginning of the work. A longer page of acknowledgements usually comes at the end. Films will often have a list of special thanks near the end of the credits, often for friends and family and consultants who contributed to the film.

A specific subtrope is In Memoriam, where a movie or television episode is dedicated to someone connected to the show who recently died, usually in a notice at the end of the show.

Compare Viewers Like You, This Song Goes Out to TV Tropes.

Examples:

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Anime & Manga 

  • Outer Zone: Right at the beginning of the first chapter, Shin Mitsuhara writes a brief paragraph thanking Rod Serling for the creation of The Twilight Zone, which Mitsuhara had watched as a youth.
  • Unico: Awakening: Volume 1 begins with a dedication to Samuel Sattin's wife Kate Hawk. Sattin and Kate were engaged before getting married during Summer 2023 while writing the manga's first volume. His wife assisted him during the series' production, even attending book signings of the series' first volume.

    For Kate, and all her magic

Comic Books 

Comic Strips 

  • The Maakies book collection Premillennial Maakies is dedicated to "Terry Ross".

Fan Works 

  • The 50th chapter of Sister Floriana, All Hallows' Eve, includes one for all Christian martyrs, especially those who died in the Spanish Civil War.
  • Retro Chill is dedicated to Calvin and Hobbes' creator Bill Watterson, which makes sense.
  • The writer of Angel of the Bat mentioned in an author's note he removed (but promised he will talk about again later) that one of his dearest friends, his dog, passed away while he was writing the story, and dedicated the rest of it to her memory. A little investigating on his deviantArt page reveals his dog's name was Sadie, a name he subsequently gave to a character who appeared shortly after this announcement.
  • The entire Elemental Chess Trilogy is dedicated to the author's best friend, who was the one who got her into Fullmetal Alchemist in the first place. There are also individual chapters dedicated to other people.
  • Say It Again, the prequel to Say It Thrice, is dedicated to Lady Norbert as thanks for her work as beta reader and maintainer of the tropes page for the series.
  • Peter Chimaera's Digimon Trilogy: DIGIMON 2: RETURN OF DIGIMON is dedicated to Sarah, which is also the name of the girlfriend of Digimon, the main character. It is not made clear who this Sarah is or why she deserves a dedication, but this is to be expected, given the writer.
  • Hellsister Trilogy: "The Apokolips Agenda" arc, which is primarily focused on the New Gods, is dedicated to their creator Jack Kirby:

    This is for JACK KIRBY. The true Source.

  • Dance with the Demons is dedicated to Batman writers O'Neil and Englehart:

    This one's for Denny O'Neil and Steve Englehart, who remembered the Dark, but never forgot the Knight.

  • Kara of Rokyn: The last story arc is dedicated to Superman's creator Jerry Siegel.

    This one's for Jerry Siegel, who created both Kal and Lyla. You won't be forgotten, either, pal.

  • Superman and Man has a dedicatory to to Christopher Reeve:

    And thanks to Christopher Reeve, not for making us believe a guy in a blue suit could fly... But for making us believe.

  • Everybody's Gotta Leave Sometime, a Peanuts one-shot written between Charles Schultz's retirement announcement and death, is dedicated to their creator.

    And, quite obviously, this one's for my favorite cartoonist of the last 40 years. So much for that.

  • FIRE! (DarkMark) is dedicated to the creators who built the Marvel Universe:

    For the following: Stan Lee. Jack Kirby. Steve Ditko. Roy Thomas. Archie Goodwin. And all the others, without whose work we would never have had a Marvel Universe. Nuff said.

  • Maybe the Last Archie Story is dedicated to Archie Comics' main writers and artists:

    For these guys: John Goldwater, Bob Montana, Dan DeCarlo, Bob Bolling...and all the rest, who gave us a character we just won't let die. Thanks a whole bunch.

  • I've Got Your Back, a Splatoon 2 Alternate Universe Fic revolving around Pearl and Marina, begins its first chapter thus:

    This fic is dedicated to my younger self, who kept going even in the darkest hour, and to all the random street performers who've unknowingly impacted my life.

Films — Animation 

  • Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991) has an especially lovely one to the memory of lyricist Howard Ashman, who died prior to the film's completion:

    To our friend Howard,
    who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul,
    we will be forever grateful.

  • Pixar's Brave had one for Steve Jobs (the co-founder and CEO of Pixar), who died eight months before the film was released:

    To Steve Jobs, our partner, mentor, and friend.

  • In Poland, Kung Fu Panda was dedicated to Joanna Wizmur, who was originally going to direct the Polish dub and only managed to cast the voice actors before passing away due to cancer.
  • The Ukrainian film Mavka: The Forest Song has a dedication to "the unbreakable Ukrainians" in the end credits. It was completed and released during the full scale war of aggression initiated by Russia in the country in 2022.
  • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is dedicated to Jules Angel, Stephen Hillenburg's mentor when he studied at the California Institute of the Arts, who died during the film production.

    Stephen Hillenburg: He truly was the most influential artistic person in my life. I consider him my "Art Dad".

Films — Live-Action 

  • The Air Up There: "This is for Jake," presumably referring to the director's son.
  • Another Round is dedicated to "Ida," the director's daughter, whose anecdotes about drinking as a student were used as inspiration for the film. She died during the filming of the movie at the age of 19, causing the director to change the story considerably.
  • April Showers: "In loving memory of those we lost" followed by a long list of people who died in school shootings (including perpetrators), and ending with "And those who survived."
  • Backstreet Dreams: "This film is dedicated, with much love and appreciation, to NORA O'MALLEY."
  • This beauty from the opening of Batman: The Movie:

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: We wish to express our gratitude to the enemies of crime and crusaders against crime throughout the world for their inspirational example. To them, and to lovers of adventure, lovers of pure escapism, lovers of unadulterated entertainment, lovers of the ridiculous and the bizarre — To funlovers everywhere — This picture is respectfully dedicated. If we have overlooked any sizable groups of lovers, we apologize.

    —THE PRODUCERS

  • Ridley Scott dedicated Black Hawk Down to his mother who died while he was on location shooting the film in Morocco. Similarly the book it was based on was dedicated to Mark Bowden's parents.
  • A Boy Called Po: The word "For" appears, followed by a large number of names, presumably the autistic relatives of the filmmakers, followed by the words "1 in 65 children diagnosed with autism," and then "Burt Bacharach dedicates his score to Nikki," his autistic daughter who committed suicide.
  • The Dark Knight was dedicated to Heath Ledger who died shortly after the film was completed and to special effects technician Conway Wickliffe, who died while working on the film.
  • François Truffaut dedicated Day for Night to Lillian and Annabeth Gish.
  • The Great Dictator was dedicated to "The Jews of the world."
  • The Great Escape's dedication simply reads 'For the Fifty.' Cue the sobbing before the movie even begins.
  • The Great Race is dedicated to Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy.
  • Heaven Knows What is dedicated to the memory of Ilya Leontyev, a drug-addicted homeless man who is depicted in the film as the protagonist's on-again off-again abusive boyfriend and true love. The protagonist, who is played by herself in a film based on her life, loves Ilya in spite of his bad behavior. Interestingly, Ilya is portrayed as accidentally burning to death in the film, while he died in real life of a drug overdose shortly after the film was completed.
  • Help!, the 1965 Beatles film, is dedicated to Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine. It's an idiosyncratic film.
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) ended with, "For Douglas".
  • Both John Carter and Brave (mentioned above) were dedicated to Steve Jobs, majority shareholder of Disney and Pixar and mentor to both films' directors and producers.
  • The Killer That Stalked New York, a 1950 film Very Loosely Based on the 1947 New York City smallpox outbreak, is dedicated "To the men and women public health—the first line of defense between mankind and disease."
  • The Libertine was dedicated to Marlon Brando and Hunter S. Thompson, both of whom Johnny Depp (the film's lead actor) had worked with and known well.
  • Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome is dedicated to producer Byron Kennedy, who died in a helicopter crash shortly before the film was made.
  • The Muppet Movie is dedicated to Edgar Bergen, who died shorty after filming his cameo.
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol is dedicated to Muppet creator Jim Henson and Muppeteer Richard Hunt.
  • Nathan's Kingdom: "For you, Amélie and Presley."
  • The Ninth Configuration, when the 1980 film was remastered in 2016 , a memorial for Peter Vincent Galahad Blatty, (the late son of William Peter Blatty), appears after the closing credits. Strangely, the 1971 high tone Lorimar theme plays over it, possibly using the audio from a TV airing.
  • Son of the Stars: "To all the children with special needs and their parents."
  • Pacific Rim is dedicated to Ray Harryhausen and Ishir⁠ō Honda, "the original monster masters."
  • Passion in the Desert is dedicated to all wild mammals.
  • The People's Joker: "For Mom and Joel Schumacher".
  • The Plastic Age: "Dedicated to the Youth of the World – whether in cloistered college halls, or in the greater University of Life."
  • The beginning of The Rainbow Experiment has "To Alex, always."
  • Rambo III is dedicated "to the gallant people of Afghanistan". There is an urban legend that it was originally dedicated to the Mujahideen, and that this was changed after the 9/11 attacks, but contemporary reviews such as this one show that it was always dedicated to the Afghan people as a whole.
  • Schindler's List is dedicated to the six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust, as stated in the final scene.
  • Sing Street: The film is dedicated "For brothers everywhere" as stated in the closing credits.
  • Kevin Smith has one of these in every film he makes. He always thanks God first.
  • Star Trek:
    • Star Trek IV was dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
    • Star Trek VI was dedicated to Gene Roddenberry, who passed away shortly before the film's release.
    • Also dedicated to Gene Roddenberry, the TNG 2-part episode "Unification", the first to air after his death.
    • And Star Trek (2009) was dedicated to Gene and Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the latter of whom had just passed on after completing her final role - the voice of the Enterprise's computer.
    • Star Trek Into Darkness is dedicated to the post-9/11 war veterans. Considering the final act of the movie consists of a giant warship leveling half of San Francisco by crashing into it, while in another location military personnel fall to their death in a burning structure, this was probably done to prevent people from complaining.
    • Star Trek Beyond is dedicated to Leonard Nimoy, who died shortly before the film was made, and Anton Yelchin, who died while it was in post-production.
  • Steps Trodden Black opens with this dedication:

    This film is dedicated to the loving memory of Jairin Brantly,
    He isn't dead or anything, he just moved to Arizona and we miss him.

  • Street Fighter (1994): "For Raul. Vaya con Dios."note 
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is also dedicated to Jim Henson, who helped design the Turtles for the first film.
  • The Towering Inferno is dedicated to the firefighters of the world.
  • Warfare is dedicated to Elliott Miller, who survived the grievous injuries depicted in the film but was left with zero recollection of what happened; this film was made specifically so he could have a visual retelling of what happened to him and his friends that day.
  • The Wild Child is dedicated to Jean-Pierre Léaud, because François Truffaut found the experience of working with first-time child actor Jean-Pierre Cargol similar to working with Léaud on The 400 Blows.

Literature 

  • The Lay of the Last Minstrel: To Walter Scott's friend and distant cousin Charles, Earl of Dalkeith (later the Duke of Buccleuch — a descendant of Anne, the Duchess in the poem).
  • Trevor Noah's memoir, Born a Crime, is prefaced as follows:

    For my mother. My first fan.
    Thank you for making me a man.

  • Choo Choo (1937): Before the book begins, there's an illustration of a boy surrounded by toy trains, and a message saying "To my son, Aris.".
  • Lois McMaster Bujold's dedication in A Civil Campaign is in honour of the writers Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Georgette Heyer and Dorothy L. Sayers.
  • The Magic Map has a spoofy one:

    This Book Is Dedicated To Latitude and Longitude, Equator, Compass, Northern Temperate Zone, and a Number of Others in The Magic Map’s Family - Because I Don’t Believe They Ever Have Had A Book Dedicated To Them Before.

  • The Magic Music Shop (a sequel to the above entry) also has one with a pun in it:

    This Book Is Dedicated To The Family Of Musical Instruments - Because They Are Such A Particularly Harmonious Family.

  • Similarly David Gerrold dedicated the first book in his The War Against the Chtorr series to Robert A. Heinlein and the second to Anne McCaffrey.
  • Each book in the Harry Potter series has a dedication:
  • At the end of A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick dedicates the book to the people he knew whose lives were destroyed by drugs. Among those listed is himself, as "Phil D".
    • The same list appears in the credits of the film.
  • Raving Lunacy is dedicated to the author's family.
  • The final The Dark Tower book was dedicated to the reader, for coming this far. See also Thanking the Viewer.
  • The first Conqueror book was dedicated to, among others, the people of Mongolia, among whom the author spent several months living while researching the story.
  • Terry Pratchett's Discworld:
    • Guards! Guards! has the following dedication:

      They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they wanted to. This book is dedicated to those fine men.

    • Witches Abroad is dedicated to "all those people — and why not? — who, after the publication of Wyrd Sisters, deluged the author with their version of the words of The Hedgehog Song. Deary, deary me..."
    • Maskerade is dedicated to "to all the people who showed me that opera was stranger than I could imagine. I can best repay their kindness by not mentioning their names here".
    • The Fifth Elephant's dedication gives thanks to Peter Bleackley, who a couple of years earlier had written a synopsis of "Bloodaxe and Ironhammer" on alt.fan.pratchett "which was probably a lot better in his version (and had more songs about gold)".
    • Unseen Academicals is dedicated to Rob Wilkins, who typed the book as, by that time, Sir PTerry had lost the ability to do so himself, and to Colin Smythe for his encouragement.
    • Snuff is dedicated to Rob, Emma, and Lyn.
    • Raising Steam is dedicated to David Pratchett and Jim Wilkins.
  • Frederick Forsyth's The Dogs of War has what's thought to be a reference to his time in Biafra.

    For Giorgio, and Christian and Schlee
    And Big Marc and Black Johnny,
    And the others in the unmarked graves.
    At least we tried.

  • Chris Claremont's First Flight bore two dedications — the first a standard dedication to a friend or loved one, the second, just under it dedicating the book to the X-Men by name. As in "To Scott, Ororo, Kurt, Kitty, Peter, Rogue..."
  • Kathy Reich dedicated her book Bare Bones "to all those fighting to protect our precious wildlife, especially:" followed by a list of a few specific organizations.
  • On a more humorous note, Dave Barry dedicated his Money Secrets book to everyone in the world, with the logic being that people will respond by thinking, "Wow! A book dedicated to me. I should buy a copy."
    • Mark Twain used similar logic to explain a dedication to John Smith.
  • Inverted with House of Leaves, which simply but ominously states that "This is not for you."
  • One of Ray Loriga's (a Spanish writer) books has a rather cryptic dedication to his (now ex)wife Christina Rosenvinge: "Para Christina, ella sabe porqué" ("To Christina, she knows why"). She, being a songwriter, retorted with her own dedication in one of her discs: "Para Ray, él sabe porqué" ("To Ray, he knows why").
  • Tad Williams, author of Otherland, dedicated the books to his father. His father does not read sci-fi. Each dedication pokes fun at the fact that he still hasn't figured it out.
  • Al Jaffee parodied this, dedicating one of his Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions book to "myself, without whose inspired and tireless efforts this book would not have been possible".
  • The High King is dedicated "To the boys who have always been Taran and the girls who will always be Eilonwy."
  • Colas Breugnon opens with a dedication to st. Martin of Gaul, the patron saint of the author's hometown of Clamecy (which is also where the plot takes place.)
  • P. G. Wodehouse opens his Jeeves and Wooster novel Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (AKA Bertie Wooster Sees It Through) with a lengthy dedication to his editor at the time, Peter Schwed, which doubles as a snarky discussion about various types of dedications, including the use of bald flattery and pretentious and/or obscure quotes.
    • He dedicated his early novel, A Gentleman of Leisure to his friend, Herbert Westbrook "without whose never-failing advice, help, and encouragement this book would have been finished in half the time".
  • Grand Central Arena by Ryk E. Spoor is dedicated to the memory of E. E. "Doc" Smith, the founding father of space opera, and writer of the Skylark Series, from which one of the main characters, Marc C. DuQuesne, is drawn.
    • Similarly, Andrew Jonathan Fine dedicated Alouette's Song to The Skylark of Space — not the author, but the actual novel — in addition to his loved ones. Since the book is heavily inspired by it, this is appropriate.
  • Historia Regum Britanniae is dedicated to Robert, First Earl of Gloucester.
  • Good Omens is dedicated to G. K. Chesterton, "a man who knew what was going on".
  • Albert Camus dedicated one of his books, The First Man, to his illiterate mother: "to you who will never be able to read this book."
  • Vladimir Nabokov dedicated most of his books to his wife: "To Véra."
  • George MacDonald Fraser played with the idea: every Flashman novel has a slightly different version of his wife's name depending on the setting. Thus in Flashman at the Charge he calls her "Ekaterina" and Flashman and the Dragon has a faux Chinese name that sounds vaguely like "Kathleen", while in Flashman and the Redskins he refers to her by a "Native American" name that he made up.
  • Amanda Hocking, author of the Trylle Trilogy, dedicated her earliest works to her grandmother (who lived to see her grandchild make it big, dying in 2013).
  • To Be or Not To Be: That Is the Adventure bears the simple inscription: "To Bea."
  • Brown's Pine Ridge Stories: Author Gary Brown dedicated his Country Stories to Barbara Rowland, a literature teacher who had encouraged him to pursue a literary career.
  • G. M. Berrow's My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic books contain some sort of dedication in the beginning of the book. The My Little Pony: Equestria Girls novelization, for example, is dedicated to "all the humans who've ever wondered what it would be like to be a pony".
  • Irving Tressler dedicated the Faux-To Guide How to Lose Friends and Alienate People to Adolf Hitler, who needed no advice on the subject.
  • The 5th Wave:
    • The 5th Wave is dedicated "For Sandy, whose dreams inspire and whose love endures".
    • The Infinite Sea is dedicated "For Sandy, guardian of the infinite".
  • The Little Prince is dedicated to Saint-Exupéry's friend, Léon Werth. The author then apologizes to his child readers for dedicating the book to a grownup and changes it to "Léon Werth - When he was a little boy".
  • Isaac Asimov:

    To my father, who
    first introduced me to science fiction.

  • Isaac Asimov and Janet Asimov: The Norby Chronicles:
  • Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg:
  • Nearly all of the Alex Rider books only refer to their dedicatees by their initials, who appear to be people outside the public eye and hence not identifiable, with three exceptions:
    • The first book, Stormbreaker, is dedicated to "J, N, C and L" — Jill, Nicholas, Cassian and Lucky, Horowitz's wife, children and dog
    • Scorpia Rising is dedicated "For all the readers who began this journey and who have now reached its end" (reflecting its original status as the last book in the series, although the sentiment is somewhat undermined by Horowitz's decision to revive the series a few years later)
    • Russian Roulette, a Prequel which came out between Scorpia Rising and Horowitz's change of heart, is dedicated to "J, N and C — but not L. Full circle," as Horowitz's dog died not long before the book was published.
  • The Second Foundation Trilogy:
  • A Storm of Swords is dedicated to "Phyllis who made me put the dragons in". Phyllis is author Phyllis Eisenstein.
  • In-universe: In the Jennings book Trust Jennings, Jennings puts a copyright declaration at the beginning of a piece of homework. Darbishire, furious that Jennings came up with the idea first, considers adding a dedication to his next piece: "To Mr Wilkins — but for whose insistence this great work would never have been started, let alone finished!"
  • Naked Came the Stranger has "To Daddy." Originally it was "To Mother," but one reporter didn't think that was Freudian enough.
  • My Dark Vanessa: "For the real-life Dolores Hazes and Vanessa Wyes whose stories have not yet been heard, believed, or understood."
  • If I Fall, If I Die: "For my mother."
  • Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! has "To all advocates of neurodiversity, past, present, and future."
  • The Ballad of Black Tom: "For H. P. Lovecraft, with all my complicated feelings." The Ballad of Black Tom is a retelling of the extremely racist Lovecraft story "The Horror at Red Hook."
  • Tornado Brain: "For the remarkable Adiline M. What a force of nature you are."
  • The first three Bounders novels are dedicated to the author's kids, Nathan, Gabriel, and Jamey, the fourth is dedicated to her parents, and the fifth is dedicated to her nephews.
  • Save the Enemy: "For Ray, Murray, and Derrick," referring to the author's husband, dog, and cat.
  • Ray Bradbury dedicates Something Wicked This Way Comes to the memory of Gene Kelly, because watching him perform "influenced and changed my life."
  • Every Shiny Thing: "For Vermont College of Fine Arts - the place that brought us together and the people who've helped us grow."
  • Peta Lyre's Rating Normal: "For all the wildthings"
  • Wildflower Ranch: "This book is dedicated to my husband, Terry. It would not have been written without his support and encouragement."
  • Social Queue: "For Aggie & Arth"
  • Shine Shine Shine: "For Benny & Sadie"
  • The Silence of Murder: "To the memory of my dad, Frank R. Daley, MD, who taught me to love words, wit, and a good mystery. I have been blessed with two fantastic parents, who gave me a much better start to life than I deserved."
  • Can You See Me? has "For Mum. Thank you for understanding me and helping to understand myself. This book is also dedicated to every girl that feels like she doesn't fit in - stand out and be brave!" from Libby Scott and "For Adam, who from the very first, glorious day has encouraged me to look up at the sky instead of down at my feet" from Rebecca Westcott.
  • The Nowhere Girls has "For us."
  • Born Behind Bars: "To my chithi, Visalam Naranan, for always believing in the strength of my words, and to my daughter, for literally lending me a helping hand when my body was weak."
  • More Than Human: "To His Gestaltitude Nicholas Samstag."
  • What to Say Next: "For Josh, the president of my first tribe. So happy you let me keep my lifetime membership. And for Indy, Elili, and Luca: my heart, my reason, my home, my tribe, my life."
  • Island's End: "To Rainer, with endless love."
  • The Boy Who Drew Monsters: "For Robert Andrew Larson"
  • The Roosevelt:
    • Carry the Ocean: "for all who navigate the waters of life's superpowers, may you ever stay afloat"
    • Shelter the Sea: "for those lost at sea, may you soon dance upon the waves"
  • Elliott & Win: "To My Friend George"
  • Remember Dippy: "For Annie and Zoe"
  • Mindblind has "To Gregory, a wonderful, supportive husband and father."
  • The Secret Life of Kitty Granger: "For anyone who has ever been told that being different is wrong. Differences are good. They make us human."
  • Almost Perfect: "To my sister, Katie. See, there's a sister in this one. Happy?"
  • Moojag and the Auticode Secret: "For Jake, Catti, Erato, Alexander, and all the late, self, and misdiagnosed autistics."
  • Parodied in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, which says that on opening your "brochure" (i.e. a generic fantasy novel), the first page you see will be thanking everyone from the author's parents to Albert Einstein (which may, in fact, be the name of a dog), and that you should completely ignore this.
  • Toni Morrison dedicated "Beloved" to "sixty million and more," who are the (known) people slavery killed.
  • Zenobia July: "In memory of Leelah Alcorn and of all the other children who couldn't find a way through. This book was born out of pondering what needed to be different in order for you to endure and survive."
  • The Mermaid Variations: "Dedicated to the real Caroline Moreira of Curitiba, Brazil." Caroline Moreira is the name of the mermaid in the story.
  • The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book dedicates the whole thing to the author's son:

    For Adam, my son and in many ways my teacher.
    Son, how can I help you to see?
    May I give you my shoulders to stand on?
    Now you see farther than me.
    Now you see for both of us.
    Won't you tell me what you see?

  • Riordanverse: Rick Riordan is fond of dedications.
    • Percy Jackson and the Olympians:
      • The first book is dedicated to his son, Haley Riordan, who heard the story first.
      • The second book is dedicated to Patrick John Riordan, his other son.
      • The third book is dedicated to Topher Bradfield, a camper who has made a world of difference.
      • The fourth book is dedicated to his wife, Becky.
      • The fifth book is dedicated to Mrs. Pabst, his eight-grade English teacher.
      • The interquel trilogy, The Senior Year Adventures, is dedicated to the cast and crew of the Disney+ adaptation:
      • The Chalice of the Gods is dedicated to the show's leads, Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, and Leah Sava Jeffries.
      • Wrath of the Triple Goddess is dedicated to the crew of the series.
    • The Heroes of Olympus:
      • The Lost Hero is dedicated to Haley and Patrick.
      • The Son of Neptune is dedicated to his wife, Becky.
      • The Mark of Athena is dedicated to his dog, Speedy.
      • The House of Hades is dedicated to his readers. He snarks that he is sorry about the cliffhanger from the last book, but not really.
      • The Blood of Olympus is also dedicated to his readers, apologizing about the House of Hades dedication and saying that he will try to avoid cliffhangers.
    • The Trials of Apollo: The first book, The Hidden Oracle, is dedicated to the Muse Calliope, claiming this is long overdue and begging her not to hurt him.
    • Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The first book, The Sword of Summer, is dedicated to Cassandra Clare, thanking her for letting him use the name Magnus.
  • Venus Among the Fishes: "For David, who has just discovered the world beneath the sea, and to my dolphin swimming companions Lil Bit, Dingy, Jessica, Sarah, and Samantha."
  • The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side: Agatha Christie dedicated the book to Margaret Rutherford, who played Miss Marple in the 1961 film Murder, She Said.
  • Chapterhouse: Dune: Frank Herbert dedicated the novel to his late wife, Beverly, who passed away a year before the publication of the novel.
  • The Pelican & After: "This book is dedicated with gratitude and affection to Bruno Bettelheim and to Barbara. It is also dedicated to my mother. And to Elsie Mills who made it all possible."

Live-Action TV 

  • The third season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is dedicated specially "to the victims [of 9/11] & their families and to the firefighters & police officers who remind us every day with their lives & courage what it truly means to be an American".
  • A July 2013 episode of Chicago Fire was dedicated to the 19 firefighters killed battling a wildfire in Arizona.
  • Star Trek: Enterprise: the pilot episode "Broken Bow" was dedicated to the firefighters that perished on 9/11, and the episode "Stigma" was dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
  • Doctor Who:
    • The first episode of the sixth series is dedicated to Elisabeth Sladen, the actress who played iconic Classic companion Sarah Jane Smith, who had passed away the previous April.
    • And the original UK broadcast of the 1996 TV movie was dedicated to Jon Pertwee, one of the series' previous lead actors, who had passed away the week before. The American and Canadian broadcasts were not, as they happened before his death.
  • The last episode of Kaamelott is dedicated to French actor Louis de Funès. The final scene uses the music of one of his movies, Jo.
  • Justified does this at the end of the series finale where it is dedicated to the people of Harlan, Kentucky; the men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service; and Elmore Leonard, who died 2 years before the show's final season.

    "Take it easy"

  • As the title card of each Decoy episode says, the show is a tribute to the New York Bureau of Policewomen.
  • The eighth season premiere of Friends ends with a dedication "To the people of New York City" as it was the first episode to air after 9/11.

Music 

  • Roza Rymbaeva dedicated the song "Alia" to Great Patriotic War Kazakh sniper Alia Moldagulova.
  • Rush dedicated one of their albums "To the loving memory of Jackie and Selena." Jackie was the first wife of drummer Neil Peart, and Selena was their daughter; they passed away within two years of each other, Jackie from cancer and Selena in a car accident.
    • They also did a dedication to Neil Armstrong during part of the Clockwork Angels tour. He had passed away about two weeks before the tour started in 2012.
  • Lawrence Gowan's song Dedication is effectively dedicated to all of his fans, be they living or dead.
  • The liner notes for Heart's 1985 self-titled album dedicate the song "These Dreams" to Nancy Wilson's friend Sharon Hess, who died of leukemia shortly before the album's release.
  • Oasis dedicated their song "Cast No Shadow" to "the genius of Richard Ashcroft."
  • Alban Berg's Violin Concerto has two dedications, the first for Louis Krasner, the second being "dem Andenken eines Engels" ("to the memory of an angel"), referring to Manon Gropius, the late daughter of Walter Gropius and Alma Mahler.
  • Modest Mussorgsky's famous piano cycle, Pictures at an Exhibition, was inspired by a memorial service of his friend, artist/architect Viktor Hartmann, where many of his paintings and designs were displayed.
  • Each of the KISS Solo Albums is dedicated to the other three members of the band at the time of their release.
  • The name and title track of "We Are the Others", the third album by symphonic metal band Delain, was dedicated to the memory of Sophie Lancaster.
  • The Downward Spiral has a dedication in the liner notes for Nine Inch Nails touring drummer Jeff Ward, who had poisoned himself via carbon monoxide in 1993 after struggling with heroin addiction.
  • Christopher Cross's "Think of Laura" is dedicated to Laura Carter, the best friend of the girl he was dating at that time, Paige McNinch. Laura died after being hit by a stray bullet when the car she, her parents, and friends rode in was unfortunately caught in the middle of a gang war.
  • Similarly, Toby Keith's "Cryin' for Me (Wayman's Song)" is dedicated to his friend Wayman Tisdale, jazz bassist and former NBA player who died of cancer in 2009. The song opens with Tisdale's voicemail greeting.
  • Beyoncé dedicated her 2022 album ‘’Renaissance'' to her husband Jay-Z, their three children, and her late Uncle Johnny (who was actually her much older cousin) who died of AIDS complications.

Radio 

  • Jack Webb dedicated each episode of the radio version of Dragnet to a police officer killed in the line of duty.

    Webb: "This episode is dedicated to [insert name], who on the [insert general time ('morning of','evening of')and date] gave his life so that yours might be a little safer".

Theatre 

  • Albert Herring is "dedicated to E. M. Forster in admiration."
  • Closer Than Ever:
    • Maltby and Shire dedicated the entire score "to our fathers Richard Maltby, Sr. and Irving Shire and our wives Janet Brenner and Didi Conn."
    • "Back on Base" is the only song with a dedication of its own: "To Bob and Sally." This refers to the Romance on the Set and eventual marriage of its original performers, singer Sally Mayes and bassist Robert Renino.
  • The Little Foxes was dedicated by Lillian Hellman "for Arthur Kober and Louis Kronenberger who have been my good friends."
  • The program for Cirque du Soleil's Alegría has a sarcastic dedication to all those who oppress others; scroll to the bottom of this page to read it.

Tabletop Games 

Video Games 

Web Animation 

  • The Little Painter: Near the beginning of the video, Kenny leaves one for his sons. It says "To my song, May the pursuit of your dreams lead you to true love".
  • Eddsworld: Every episode since creator Edd Gould's death has a dedication to him at the end of the credits.

    "Dedicated to Edd Gould"

Western Animation 

  • Freakazoid!: "A Matter of Love" parodied these with one normal dedication "to all those who have ever been in love", one to a group of scientists, and one to "Mrs. Ashley Huggbees of Fuller's Earth, AZ" for having a funny last name.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender has a dedication to Mako, the recently-deceased voice of Iroh, in "Tales of Ba Sing Se".
  • Similar to the Avatar example above, the Green Lantern: The Animated Series episode "Regime Change" was dedicated to Ian Abercrombie, the voice of Ganthet, who passed away before the episode was aired.
  • Justice League: Doom is dedicated to its writer, Dwayne McDuffie, who died shortly after completing the adaptation from the source comic.
  • The first season of The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries was dedicated to Friz Freleng, who directed the original theatrical shorts.
  • The Hey Arnold! episode "Veterans Day" was dedicated to "the veterans who really won the Battle of the Bulge."
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) has a dedication at the end of the special "Mutant Apocalypse" where a drawing of Leo holding a signboard saying 'For Kevin and Peter' which is dedicated to the original creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. This is similar to the dedication picture from the first issue from 1984, which was dedicated to Jack Kirby and Frank Miller.
  • Blue's Clues & You! dedicates each of its episodes to the people behind the original Blue's Clues episode it adapts.
  • The Wonder Pets! episode "Save the Dalmatian" was dedicated to the members of the New York City Fire Department.
  • Molly of Denali has an In-Universe example in "The Funny Face Competition." Molly dedicates her book to Auntie Midge's Uncle Isaac, "the original funny face champion," so that everyone knows he was a very happy man, not at all like what was shown in the previous book he featured in.

Dedicated to all the tireless tropers who made this entry possible. Keep up the good work!