APA book citations might look intimidating, but they aren’t bad once you learn the basic format. APA 7 book citations include the author, publication year, book title, and publisher. Remember to use the author’s last name and then only the initials for the first and middle names. The APA in-text citation format for a book follows the author-date style, which means the year of publication follows the author’s name. Learn more about how to quickly and easily make APA book citations using this guide.
APA Book Citation Example
Scholarly books are known for having a lot of authors, but it’s always best to start simply by looking at how to create a basic citation for a book with just one author in APA. The basic format for citing a book with a single author in an APA style reference looks like:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
One Author Book Citation Example APA
Wright, S. (2004). The anthropology of organizations. Routledge.
Fleming, Q. (2003). Project procurement management: contracting, subcontracting, teaming. FMC Press.
Self-Published Example
Zamora, C. R. (2019). Walking my way home: A memoir. Author.
In-Text Citation:
Direct Quote: (Zamora, 2019, p. 76)
Paraphrase: (Zamora, 2019)
How to Cite a Book With Multiple Authors in APA
When you want to create an APA citation for a book with between two to nineteen authors, use a comma and an ampersand (&) before the final author in the list. The format is otherwise identical to a print book with a single author.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Publication Year). Book title. Publisher.
Example for 2 Authors
Alberts, B., & Walter, P. (2002). Molecular biology of the cell. Garland Publishing.
In-Text Citation for 2 Authors:
Direct Quote: (Alberts & Walter, 1987, p. 15)
Paraphrase: (Alberts & Walter, 1987)
Follow the format above for up to and including nineteen authors. Beyond that, you should include the first nineteen authors’ names, then insert three ellipsis points (…), and then the final author, followed by the rest of the citation data.
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S.,…Author, Z. Z. (Publication Year). Book title. Publisher.
More Than Twenty Author Example
Jaramillo, C., Gilbert, A. N., Bulixi, T. P., Farland, N., Smith, L. J., Leland, K., Fran, J., Moore, R. B., Garrett, B. C., Done, N. D., Witting, R. E., Dunkle, F. T., Smith, J. M., Johnson, H. H., Bath, N., Williams, S. T., Brown, N., Jones, T. R., Miller J.,…Wintle, N. (2012). Understanding new technology. Neal-Schuman Publishers.
In-Text Citation for 3 or More Authors
Direct Quote: (Jaramillo et al., 1987, p. 15)
Paraphrase: (Jaramillo et al., 1987)
APA Book Citation for an Edited Book
Edited books might have authors, and they might not. For an edited book with an author, the editor is included after the title. For edited books with no authors, the editor takes the place of the author.
Author, B. B. (Publication Year). Work title: Capital letter also for subtitle (E. Editor, Ed.). Publisher.
Edited Book Citation With an Author Example
Druben, T. (2019). Exploring the galaxy (T. M. Garner, Ed.). Chicago Books.
Edited Book In-Text Citation With an Author Example
Direct Quote: (Druben, 2019, p. 264)
Paraphrase: (Druben, 2019)
Editor, A. A. (Ed.). (Publication Year). Work title: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
Edited Book Citation With No Author Example
Bing, M. G., & Johnson, C. J. (Eds.). (2020). Exploring the universe. New York Publisher.
Edited Book In-Text Citation With No Author Example
Direct Quote: (Bing & Johnson, 2020, p. 20)
Paraphrase: (Bing & Johnson, 2020)
Online Book Citations in APA
In the 7th edition of APA, they made citing online books easier. When it comes to an online book, you’re just going to tell readers the online location rather than the physical location.
Author, A. B. (Publication Year). Title of work. Publisher. DOI or URL
Online Book Citation Example in APA
Morrison, T. (1970). The bluest eye. Vintage Books. https://amzn.to/4ObKrFg
Example In-Text Citation Online Book
Direct Quote: (Morrison, 1970, para. 24)
Paraphrase: (Morrison, 1970)
Published Book With New Foreword
Republished books with a new foreword are a citation you won’t see as often, but it is possible. Therefore, you’ll need to format the reference to account for the new part.
Author, A. A. (with Author, B.) (Publication Year). Work title: Capital letter also for subtitle (Edition). Publisher. (Original work published in date)
New Foreward APA Citation for Edited Book
Garrett, B. (with Morse, M.) (2020). An analysis of the planets (50th-anniversary ed.) D. S. Brewer. (Original work published in 1990)
APA Textbook Citation
Many times, quotes and sources can come out of your textbook; therefore, it’s important to know how to make textbook citations. For a textbook, follow the format for a chapter book.
Author, A. A. (Publication Date). Title of chapter. Title of Book. (edition, pages). Publisher.
Example of APA Textbook Citation
Roberts, E. V. (2012). Start writing. Writing about literature (13th ed., pp. 122-135). Longman Publishing Group.
In-Text Citation for Textbook
Direct Quote: (Roberts, 2012, p. 135)
Paraphrase: (Roberts, 2012)
Book Citation Guidelines in APA
When formatting your book citations, be sure to follow these general rules:
- Use the author’s last name, first initial, and middle initial, if available.
- The title of the book is in italics with only the first word capitalized.
- The subtitle is also in italics, also with only the first word capitalized (e.g., Book main title: Subtitle of this book).
- Double-space your reference list entries.
- Use a hanging indent.
Include Current Sources
Published books, both print and digital, can be valuable sources of information for your school paper. When gathering research materials; however, you shouldn’t rely on an APA citation alone. Keep current by looking up academic journals and other articles too.
APA Book Citation Examples
How do you citate a book in APA in text?
When it comes to making a book citation in-text APA, you include the author and date of the publication. You'll also include commas between the different elements. For example:
(Austen, 1876)
How do you cite a book in APA 2020?
In 2020, you can use the 7th edition of APA style to make a book citation. Therefore, you no longer need to include the location in your publication in APA 7. An example of an APA 2020 book citation includes:
Garrett, A. A. (2017). Exploring extreme. New York Publishing.
How do you cite a book with two authors in APA?
To cite a book with two authors in APA, you need to include a comma and ampersand between the authors. This looks like:
Betts, J. L., & Matherson, A.
How do you cite a book?
When it comes to making a book citation in APA, you include the author, publication year, title of the book, and publisher. Additionally, you include periods after every part of the citations. For example:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
How do you cite references in APA format?
When it comes to citing references in APA format, you typically include the author, date, title, and source elements. The arrangement of these elements varies depending on if you are using a book, periodical, website, etc. An example of an APA format citation example looks like:
Austen, J. (1938). Pride and prejudice. New York Publishing.