The Bone Season

Acknowledgments

I owe a great debt to the Godwin family, most of all to David, for giving me such a warm welcome into the world of publishing. A big hand for Kirsty McLachlan, Caitlin Ingham, and Anna Watkins for all their hard work on the film and foreign rights side. I couldn’t have asked for a better agency than I’ve found at DGA.

To the Bloomsbury team: before meeting you, I had no idea just how much passion and teamwork went into creating a book. I’d like to express my gratitude to the inimitable Alexandra Pringle, whose passion for this novel has been the best inspiration I could ask for; to Alexa von Hirschberg, my wonderful editor, who has gone miles beyond the call of duty and been there for me at the drop of a hat; and to Rachel Mannheimer, Justine Taylor, and Sarah Barlow, all of whom have helped make The Bone Season the absolute best it could be. Heartfelt thanks to Katie Bond, Jude Drake, Amanda Shipp, Ianthe Cox-Willmott, Eleanor Weil, and Oliver Holden-Rea in the UK, and to George Gibson, Cristina Gilbert, Nancy Miller, Marie Coolman, and Sara Mercurio in the U.S. You’ve all been fantastic.

Andy Serkis, Jonathan Cavendish, Chloe Sizer, Will Tennant, and the rest of the team at Imaginarium: it is a privilege to be working with you. Thank you for your dedication to every aspect of this book, far beyond the visual. On an artistic note, many thanks are owed to András Bereznay for designing the map; David Mann for the beautiful cover—you are the Mann—and Leiana Leatutufu for being my own personal automatiste.

To say this book has been my life for the past two years would be an understatement. There are far too many of you to name in this small space, but thank you so much to the friends that have been there for me over those years—and before them. A particularly big thanks to Neil Dymond and Fran Tracey; to Emma Forward, my inspiring English teacher; and to Rian, Jesica, and Richard for inviting me along to Ireland. If not for you, I’d never have met Molly Malone in person.

To my translators around the world, thank you for making this book available in more languages than I could ever master. Many thanks to Flo and Alie for giving me a hand with French and Serbian names, and to Devora at Agam Books for sharing her knowledge of Hebrew.

Thank you to all the people that have followed my blog and Twitter feed on the road to publication, especially Susan Hill. Your support has given me so much confidence. Extra thanks to the staff and students at St. Anne’s College for being so kind and accommodating over this last chaotic year. Stanner love.

And of course, thank you to my family—most of all to Mum, for giving me constant strength and support, and Mike, my super stepfather and the undisputed king of tasseography. The two of you have handled me at my worst, so in the spirit of Marilyn Monroe, you sure as hell deserve me at my best.

JD, thanks for being my muse for this one. You are my number one dead poet. And last but not least, thank you to Ali Smith for giving me the courage to send The Bone Season out into the world.

Thank you all for taking a chance on a dreamer.