APA In-Text Citation Format (7th Edition)

Learn how to cite a book in APA format using the 7th edition guidelines. This guide covers full reference examples, in-text citation formats, and variations for textbooks, edited volumes, and books with multiple authors.

Basic Format for an APA Book Citation

The general format for citing a book in APA Style (7th edition) includes the author's name, year of publication, title (in italics and sentence case), and the publisher name. Do not include the location of publication.

Reference list format:


                      Author, A. A. (Year).
                      Title of the book
                      . Publisher.

Example:


                      King, S. (2011).
                      11/22/63: A novel
                      . Scribner.

Use sentence case for the book title (capitalise only the first word and proper nouns), and italicise the entire title, including subtitles.

APA In-Text Citations for Books

In APA Style, in-text citations for books follow the author–date format. Use the author's last name and year of publication. For direct quotes, include a page number.

🔹 Single Author

Parenthetical: (King, 2011)
Narrative: King (2011) explores the concept of...

🔹 Two Authors

Parenthetical: (Brown & Parker, 2019)
Narrative: Brown and Parker (2019) explain...

🔹 Three or More Authors

Parenthetical: (Miller et al., 2020)
Narrative: Miller et al. (2020) suggest that...

🔹 Direct Quote with Page Number

“Time travel is a bitch” (King, 2011, p. 23).

APA Book Citation Variations

Different types of books follow slightly different citation formats in APA. Here are examples for textbooks, edited volumes, reprints, and translated books.

📚 Textbook

Cite a textbook like a regular book. If it’s a specific edition, include the edition in parentheses after the title.


                      Feldman, R. S. (2021).
                      Essentials of understanding psychology
                      (14th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

📘 Edited Book

List the editor(s) in place of the author and add “(Ed.)” or “(Eds.)” after their names.


                      Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (Eds.). (2010).
                      Cultural psychology
                      . W. H. Freeman.

🔁 Reprint of a Classic Book

List the original publication year at the end of the reference in parentheses.


                      Freud, S. (2003).
                      The ego and the id
                      . Dover Publications. (Original work published 1923)

🌍 Translated Book

Include the translator’s name in parentheses after the title.


                      Dostoevsky, F. (1993).
                      Crime and punishment
                      (R. Pevear & L. Volokhonsky, Trans.). Vintage Classics.
                      (Original work published 1866)

FAQs About Citing Books in APA

Treat a textbook like any other book. If it has an edition number, include it in parentheses after the title. Example: (3rd ed.) .

Begin the reference with the book title in italics, followed by the year and publisher. In-text, use a shortened title. Example: ("APA Manual", 2020) .

No. APA 7th edition no longer requires the city or country of the publisher. Include only the publisher name.

Cite the author of the chapter, the year, the chapter title, the editors, and the book title. Example:


                            In E. Brown & H. Smith (Eds.),
                            Title of book
                            (pp. xx–xx)

Only include page numbers when citing a chapter in an edited book or when quoting directly in your in-text citation.

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