First of all, we’d like to thank Suzanne Sutherland for bringing this book to fruition. Basil had Zed in their head for a while, but it was the push from Suzanne that got us working together and helped form Zed into the dashing, fabulous kid they are on these pages. (There might even be a little Suzanne in the kick-butt character of Sam.)
We’d also like to thank the great, and tragically gone-too-soon, Sheila Barry. Sheila made all of us better at what we do. She is missed every day.
Dozens of people help make a book a book. Natalie Meditsky and the design crew at HarperCollins deserve a giant thanks.
We’d like to thank the members of our family—spread all over the globe. The support we get for our personal and professional lives is everything.
And one final thanks. A lot of the editing and illustrating of this book happened in a pandemic, and I got through some of the darkest days with the help of the amazing Drawn to FANtasy gang—led by the DiTerlizzi family—Tony, Ang, Soph, Mimi and Pippin.
Love each other.
Make the world a better place each day.
And listen to each other. You’ll learn a lot.
—Kevin
Huge thanks to: my incredible friends and chosen family, Leo, Celia, Sasha, Geena, Kaeli and Manny, Davrielle, Blue and Élie, for everything; I’m so glad we are in this life together. Everyone at Mabel’s Fables and at House of Anansi and Groundwood Books for believing in the power of good books and community. Special shout-out to Cindy Ma for not minding being pestered constantly and for being the best hype man this weirdo could ask for! Our fabulous editor, Suzanne Sutherland, who introduced me to the Glad Day Bookshop in Toronto when I was a teen, where I experienced firsthand how life-changing LGBTQ+ literature was and could be. Kit H. for always being up for talking about writing and ideas and wacky characters and everything! There’s a lot of you in this book. Erin, Mom, David and my extended family a thousand times over, but especially Kit for knowing exactly what I’m going to say, sometimes even before I say it. The Berot-Burnses for always being a heck of a good time. Grandma and Grandpa Carlin for chats on theatre, baseball and complicated ethical questions. Gram and Grampa S. for understanding the importance of good food and good company—Chez Watson is very much inspired by the warm chaos of a Sylvester gathering. And finally, my dad, my co-author and my creative partner-in-crime, Kevin Sylvester. We really did this thing! Time for a celebratory dance party!
—Basil