Books are one of the most common sources in academic writing — and fortunately, they're one of the most straightforward to cite in APA. Whether you're referencing a classic textbook, a chapter from an edited collection, or an e-book you downloaded last night, the basic structure stays the same.
Let's work through every book scenario you're likely to encounter, starting with the simplest case and building up to the trickier ones.
The Basic Format
Every book citation follows APA's four-part structure:
Author. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
Walker, M. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Scribner.
What to notice: The author's name is inverted (last name, first initial). The year goes in parentheses. The book title is italicized and in sentence case — only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon are capitalized. The publisher name follows with no city or state (that was a 6th edition rule that's been dropped).
Book With One Author
This is the baseline case. One person wrote the book, and you're citing the whole thing.
Reference list:
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Kahneman, 2011)
Narrative:Kahneman (2011) argues that…
Nothing fancy here — just the four-part formula applied directly.
Book With Multiple Authors
When a book has two or more authors, list them all in the reference list (up to 20), separated by commas, with an ampersand (&) before the last name.
Two Authors
Reference list:
Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2005). Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. William Morrow.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Levitt & Dubner, 2005)
Narrative:Levitt and Dubner (2005) demonstrate that…
Notice the subtle difference: in the reference list, you use &. In a narrative in-text citation, you write out "and." In a parenthetical citation, you use &.
Three or More Authors
Reference list:
Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world: How the West became psychologically peculiar and particularly prosperous. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Henrich et al., 2010)
Narrative:Henrich et al. (2010) found that…
In APA 7th edition, you use et al. from the very first citation when there are three or more authors. You don't need to list them all the first time anymore — that was a 6th edition rule.
For a deeper dive into multi-author citations, see APA Citation With Multiple Authors.
Edited Book
An edited book is a collection of chapters written by different authors, compiled and organized by one or more editors. When you're citing the book as a whole (rather than a specific chapter), the editor goes in the author position with "(Ed.)" or "(Eds.)" after their name.
Reference list:
Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). (2020). The Cambridge handbook of intelligence (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Sternberg, 2020)
Narrative:Sternberg (2020) compiled research showing that…
If there are multiple editors:
Sternberg, R. J., & Kaufman, S. B. (Eds.). (2011). The Cambridge handbook of intelligence. Cambridge University Press.
Chapter in an Edited Book
This is one of the most commonly needed — and most commonly botched — book citations. You're citing a specific chapter written by one author within a book edited by someone else.
The format adds an extra layer:
Chapter Author. (Year). Title of chapter. In Editor First Initial. Last Name (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. DOI
Reference list:
Sweller, J. (2011). Cognitive load theory. In J. P. Mestre & B. H. Ross (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 55, pp. 37–76). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-387691-1.00002-8
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Sweller, 2011)
Narrative:Sweller (2011) proposes that…
Key details:
- The chapter title is not italicized (it's part of a larger work).
- The book title is italicized.
- Editors' names are in first-initial-last-name order (not inverted) because they appear after "In."
- Page range is included in parentheses after the book title.
- Include a DOI if one is available.
E-book or Audiobook
For e-books and audiobooks, the format is nearly identical to a print book. The key difference is that you include the format in square brackets after the title and replace the publisher with the DOI or URL if the book is available online.
E-book With a DOI
Goodwin, D. K. (2018). Leadership: In turbulent times [E-book]. Simon & Schuster. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/example
E-book From a Database (No DOI)
If the e-book comes from a library database like EBSCO or ProQuest and has no DOI, just cite it like a print book — don't include the database name or URL:
Goodwin, D. K. (2018). Leadership: In turbulent times. Simon & Schuster.
Audiobook
Obama, M. (2018). Becoming [Audiobook]. Random House Audio. https://www.audible.com/pd/Becoming-Audiobook/example
Include "[Audiobook]" only when the format is relevant to your discussion (for example, if you're analyzing the narration style). If you're just citing the content, treat it like a regular book.
In-text citations (all formats):
(Goodwin, 2018) or Goodwin (2018)
Book With No Author
When no author or editor is listed, move the title into the author position:
Reference list:
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Merriam-Webster.
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 2003)
Narrative:Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003) defines…
In the reference list, the title stays italicized (because it's a book — a standalone work). In the in-text citation, use italics and title case for the shortened title.
Edition Other Than the First
When you're citing a second, third, or revised edition, include the edition number in parentheses after the title — not italicized:
Reference list:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
In-text citations:
(American Psychological Association, 2020)
The edition info goes inside parentheses immediately after the title, before the period. Common abbreviations: "2nd ed.", "3rd ed.", "4th ed.", "Rev. ed." (revised edition).
If the author and publisher are the same (as in the APA manual example above), list both — don't omit either one.
Translated Book
For a book that was originally published in another language and translated into English, include the translator after the title:
Reference list:
Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child (M. Cook, Trans.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1937)
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Piaget, 1937/1954)
Narrative:Piaget (1937/1954) described…
Key details:
- The translator appears in parentheses after the title, with "(Trans.)" for one translator or "(Trans.)" after the last name for multiple.
- Include the original publication date in parentheses at the end of the entry.
- In-text, cite both dates separated by a slash — original year first.
Republished Book
Similar to translations, when a book has been republished (for example, a classic work reissued by a new publisher), include the original publication date:
Reference list:
James, W. (2007). The principles of psychology (Vol. 1). Cosimo Classics. (Original work published 1890)
In-text citations:
(James, 1890/2007)
Quick-Reference Table
| Scenario | Reference Format | In-Text Example |
|---|---|---|
| One author | Last, F. M. (Year). Title. Publisher. | (Last, Year) |
| Two authors | Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year). Title. Publisher. | (Last & Last, Year) |
| Three+ authors | Last, F. M., Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year). Title. Publisher. | (Last et al., Year) |
| Editor | Last, F. M. (Ed.). (Year). Title. Publisher. | (Last, Year) |
| Book chapter | Last, F. M. (Year). Chapter title. In F. M. Last (Ed.), Book title (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. | (Last, Year) |
| E-book with DOI | Last, F. M. (Year). Title [E-book]. Publisher. DOI | (Last, Year) |
| No author | Title. (Year). Publisher. | (Title, Year) |
| Edition | Last, F. M. (Year). Title (2nd ed.). Publisher. | (Last, Year) |
| Translated book | Last, F. M. (Year). Title (F. M. Last, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YYYY) | (Last, YYYY/Year) |
Common Mistakes
These are the errors we see most often with book citations:
- Including the city and state of the publisher. That was a 6th edition requirement. In the 7th edition, just use the publisher name — no location needed.
- Italicizing chapter titles. Only the book title gets italicized. Chapter titles within edited books stay in plain text.
- Using title case for the book title. APA uses sentence case in the reference list. Thinking, Fast and Slow in running text becomes Thinking, fast and slow in the reference entry.
- Forgetting the edition number. If you're not citing the first edition, you need to include the edition in parentheses.
- Inverting editor names after "In." When editors appear after "In" in a book chapter citation, their names go in standard order (First Initial. Last Name), not inverted.
- Adding the database name for e-books. If you accessed an e-book through a library database, don't include the database name — just cite it like a print book (unless it has a DOI, which you should always include).
What's Next
Now that you know how to cite books, you might want to explore:
- How to Cite a Journal Article in APA Format — the other essential source type for academic writing
- APA Citation With Multiple Authors — deeper coverage of the et al. rules and edge cases
- APA Reference List — the complete guide to formatting your reference list
If you're tired of looking up publisher names and edition numbers, Archivero can automatically generate APA reference entries for books — just add the book to your library and the citation is ready to copy.
