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APA Book Citation Examples

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.

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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.

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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.

Format for Multiple Authors in APA

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.

Format for More Than 20 Authors in APA

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)

format book citations multiple authors APA
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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.

Format for an Edited Book With the Author in APA

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)

Format for an Edited Book (No Author) in APA

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)

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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.

Format for E-Books and Online Book Citations APA

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)

Note: Remember when you have a DOI or URL, you forgo the period at the end.

 

example APA E-book citation

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.

Format for Republished Book, New Forward APA

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.

Format for APA Textbook Citation

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.

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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.

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