How to Cite a Book in APA Style (7th Edition): Every Book Type

Citing a single-author book in APA 7th edition is simple. The trouble starts with everything else: edited books, a single chapter inside an edited book, translated and republished classics, later editions, multivolume works, ebooks, and audiobooks. Each has its own twist, and these are exactly the cases automated citation tools and older guides get wrong. This guide covers the basic book format briefly, then works through every book variation with a correct, current example for each.

For the full reference list rules that apply to all source types, including page setup, alphabetization, and the twenty-author rule, see Editor World's APA reference list guide. For the matching in-text rules, see the APA in-text citations guide.

Quick answer: the basic book format

Format: Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of book in sentence case. Publisher.

Example: Angelou, M. (1969). I know why the caged bird sings. Random House.

In-text: (Angelou, 1969) or narratively, Angelou (1969).

Title in italics and sentence case. No publisher location (that was APA 6th). Add a DOI or URL only for ebooks that have one. Everything past this basic case is covered below.

The Building Blocks of a Book Reference

Every APA book reference follows the same four-part order: author, date, title, source. Once you know how each variation changes one of those four parts, the edge cases stop being intimidating.

  • Author. Last name, then initials. Invert only the names; use an ampersand before the final author.
  • Date. Year of publication in parentheses. Republished works carry two dates, covered below.
  • Title. Italicized, sentence case. Capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Edition, volume, and translator details go in parentheses right after the title.
  • Source. The publisher name, with no location. A DOI or URL follows only when one exists (typically for ebooks).

Books With Multiple Authors

List up to twenty authors before using an ellipsis, the same rule that applies across the reference list in APA 7th.

Two to twenty authors: separate names with commas and place an ampersand before the last.

Example: Fisher, P., & Yao, R. (2017). Gender differences in financial risk tolerance. Princeton University Press.

Twenty-one or more authors: list the first nineteen, then three spaced periods, then the final author, with no ampersand.

Edited Books

When you cite an entire edited volume as a whole (not one chapter from it), the editor takes the author position, followed by (Ed.) for one editor or (Eds.) for more than one.

Format: Editor Last Name, First Initial. (Ed. or Eds.). (Year). Title of book in sentence case. Publisher.

Example: Smith, A., & Patel, M. (Eds.). (2022). Handbook of academic publishing in the social sciences. Routledge.

Cite the whole edited book this way only when you're referring to the book in general. If you used one specific chapter written by one contributor, use the chapter format below instead. That distinction is the single most common book-citation error.

A Chapter in an Edited Book

This is the format people search for most and get wrong most. Use it when chapters have different authors and an editor assembled them. The chapter author leads; the editors appear after the word "In," in normal (non-inverted) order.

Format: Chapter Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of chapter in sentence case. In E. Editor & F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book in sentence case (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.

Example: Hassan, A. (2022). Interventions for adolescent anxiety in school settings. In A. Smith & M. Patel (Eds.), Handbook of academic publishing in the social sciences (pp. 145-167). Routledge.

Three things writers miss here:

  • The chapter title is not italicized; the book title is. Italicize the container, not the piece inside it.
  • The editors' names are not inverted. Only the chapter author is inverted (Last, Initial). Editors read First Initial. Last Name.
  • The chapter's page range goes in parentheses after the book title, with "pp."

Note: if you used one chapter of a book written entirely by one author (no separate chapter authors, no editor), don't make a chapter reference. Cite the whole book and give the chapter or page numbers in the in-text citation only.

Later Editions

When a book is not the first edition, put the edition number in parentheses right after the title, before the period.

Example: Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association.

The edition goes inside the same parentheses as a volume number when both apply: Title (2nd ed., Vol. 1).

Multivolume Works

Cite only the volume or volumes you actually used. The volume number goes in parentheses after the title.

Single volume of a set: Fiske, S. T., Gilbert, D. T., & Lindzey, G. (2010). Handbook of social psychology (5th ed., Vol. 1). John Wiley & Sons.

A titled volume within a set: when an individual volume has its own title, include both the set title and the volume title.

Example: Travis, C. B., & White, J. W. (Eds.). (2018). APA handbook of the psychology of women: Vol. 1. History, theory, and battlegrounds. American Psychological Association.

Translated Books

For a translated work, name the translator in parentheses after the title, in normal order, followed by "Trans." If the work was originally published earlier, add the original year at the end.

Format: Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year of translation). Title of book (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Example: Freud, S. (2010). The interpretation of dreams (J. Strachey, Trans.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1900)

The in-text citation shows both years, original first: (Freud, 1900/2010).

Republished and Classic Works

A republished work (a classic reissued in a modern edition) uses the same dual-date approach. Give the year of the version you read, then note the original publication year at the end.

Example: Dickens, C. (2003). A tale of two cities. Penguin Classics. (Original work published 1859)

The in-text citation cites both: (Dickens, 1859/2003). This tells the reader the ideas date to 1859 even though you used a 2003 printing.

Ebooks and Audiobooks

In APA 7th, an ebook is formatted just like a print book. You do not add a format tag like "[ebook]," and you don't name the platform (Kindle, etc.). If the ebook has a DOI, include it; if it has only a URL and no DOI, include the URL. Most print and ebook references are otherwise identical.

Ebook with a DOI: Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

For an audiobook, add a bracketed format description after the title, and name the narrator if it's relevant to your use.

Example: Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow [Audiobook]. Random House Audio.

Books With a Group or No Author

When an organization wrote the book, the organization is the author. If that organization is also the publisher, don't repeat it; end with the title.

Group author (also publisher): American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

When a book has no identifiable author or editor, the title moves to the author position, and the entry is alphabetized by the first significant word of the title.

No author:Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Merriam-Webster.

In-Text Citations for Books

Book in-text citations follow the standard author-date pattern. A direct quotation adds a page number.

  • Paraphrase: (Angelou, 1969) or Angelou (1969)
  • Direct quote: (Angelou, 1969, p. 12)
  • Republished or translated: (Freud, 1900/2010)
  • Chapter in an edited book: cite the chapter author, not the editor: (Hassan, 2022)

For the complete in-text rules, including multiple authors, repeated citations, and quotations from sources without page numbers, see the APA in-text citations guide.

When Professional APA Editing Helps

Book references are where edition-specific rules pile up: dual dates for republished works, the editor-versus-chapter-author distinction, italicizing the container but not the chapter, and dropping the publisher location that APA 6th required. A reference list heavy on books, the kind a dissertation or scholarly monograph produces, is exactly where a careful second read pays off. Editor World's academic editing services include APA 7th reference checking at the source-type level, applied consistently across dissertation editing and book editing. You choose your editor from verified profiles, see credentials and client ratings before submitting, and can request a free sample edit of your first 300 words to check the fit. Every editor is a native English speaker from the US, UK, or Canada, no AI is used at any stage, and a certificate of editing is available as an optional add-on.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a book in APA 7th edition?

The basic format is: Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of book in sentence case. Publisher. For example: Angelou, M. (1969). I know why the caged bird sings. Random House. The title is italicized and in sentence case, meaning only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. The in-text citation is (Angelou, 1969). APA 7th doesn't include the publisher location, which APA 6th required.


How do you cite a chapter in an edited book in APA?

Use this format: Chapter Author Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of chapter in sentence case. In E. Editor & F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book in sentence case (pp. xx-xx). Publisher. The chapter title isn't italicized, but the book title is. The editors' names appear after the word "In" and aren't inverted, so they read First Initial then Last Name. Only the chapter author is inverted. The chapter page range follows the book title in parentheses with "pp." The in-text citation uses the chapter author, not the editor.


Do you include the publisher location when citing a book in APA?

No. APA 7th edition removed the publisher location entirely. Only the publisher name appears at the end of a book reference. The requirement to include the city and state or country before the publisher name was an APA 6th edition rule, and including it is the most common outdated habit in book references. If the organization that wrote the book is also the publisher, don't repeat the name.


How do you cite a translated or republished book in APA?

For a translated book, name the translator in parentheses after the title in normal order followed by "Trans.," and add the original publication year at the end in the form (Original work published Year). For example: Freud, S. (2010). The interpretation of dreams (J. Strachey, Trans.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1900). A republished classic uses the same approach, giving the year of the edition you read and noting the original year at the end. The in-text citation shows both years with the original first, such as (Freud, 1900/2010).


How do you cite an ebook in APA 7th edition?

In APA 7th edition, an ebook is formatted the same as a print book. You don't add a format label such as "ebook," and you don't name the device or platform such as Kindle. If the ebook has a DOI, include it at the end as a hyperlink beginning with https://doi.org/. If it has only a URL and no DOI, include the URL. Otherwise the ebook reference is identical to the print version, including the italicized sentence-case title and the publisher name with no location.


How do you cite a book with no author in APA?

When a book has no identified author or editor, move the title to the author position and alphabetize the entry by the first significant word of the title, ignoring leading articles such as a, an, or the. For example: Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Merriam-Webster. If an organization is responsible for the book, use the organization as the author, and if that organization is also the publisher, don't repeat the name at the end.

Content reviewed by the Editor World editorial team. Book reference formats reflect the APA Publication Manual, 7th edition (Sections 9 and 10). Editor World, founded in 2010 by Patti Fisher, PhD, graduate of The Ohio State University, provides professional human-only academic editing, dissertation editing, book editing, and proofreading worldwide. BBB A+ accredited since 2010 with 5.0/5 Google and Facebook Reviews. More than 100 million words edited for over 8,000 clients in 65+ countries. Multiple Gold and Bronze Stevie Award winner. Native English editors from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Less than 5% of applicants are accepted to the editor panel. Recommended by the Boston University Economics Department, University of San Diego, University of Michigan, UCLA, University of Missouri, and more. No AI tools are used at any stage.