Thank you, one and all, to the many friends and colleagues who helped one way or the other in the work of getting Out of Oz out on paper.
—Douglas Smith, artist, for the splendid jacket and case, section art, and maps
—David Groff, Betty Levin, Andy Newman, for their close reading and helpful remarks
—William Reiss of John Hawkins and Associates, for the same
—Cassie Jones, Liate Stehlik, Lynn Grady, and other fine people at HarperCollins: Rich Aquan, Ben Bruton, Jessica Deputato, Tavia Kowalchuk, Shawn Nicholls, Lisa Stokes, Nyamekye Waliyaya, Chelsey Emmelhainz, and Lorie Young
—the producers and creators and performers of Wicked the musical, at home and around the world, whose good cheer has become a constant background melody in my life
—Scott Glorioso, Lori Shelly, and Elizabeth Williams in the GM office, for managing crises from technological to overnight posting to accounting, but perhaps especially to Emily Prabhaker, for helping me compose an index and synopsis to the first three books of The Wicked Years, which was an invaluable map and guide as I drove the complicated story to its complicated conclusion
—Todd Hearon and Ron MacLean, for permission to quote from their work at the novel’s close
—Andy and the next generation of Maguire Newmans, for all the life that cannot be found in the pages of novels