How to Cite a Book in Chicago Style

Reference / Bibliography

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.

In-text citation

(Turabian 2018, 45)

Source breakdown

author

Turabian, Kate L.

title

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations

edition

9th ed.

location

Chicago

publisher

University of Chicago Press

year

2018

Missing place of publication

Chicago style requires the city of publication before the publisher name, unlike APA 7 and MLA 9.

Sentence case for title

Chicago uses headline-style capitalization (title case). Capitalize all major words in the title.

Missing edition information

If not citing the first edition, include the edition number. Use "2nd ed.," "3rd ed.," etc.

How do I cite a book in Chicago style?

Chicago style uses two systems for book citations. In the notes-bibliography system (common in humanities), the bibliography entry is: Last, First. Title of Book. Edition. Place: Publisher, Year. For example: Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers. 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. The first footnote uses: First Last, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page. In the author-date system (common in sciences), the reference list entry is: Last, First. Year. Title of Book. Edition. Place: Publisher. The in-text citation is (Last Year, page). Both systems require the city of publication — unlike APA 7 and MLA 9, which dropped this requirement. Italicize the book title and use headline-style capitalization (title case) for all major words.

How do I cite an e-book in Chicago style?

For e-books, start with the standard book citation format and then add the e-book information at the end. If the e-book has a DOI, include it as a URL: https://doi.org/10.xxxx. If accessed on a specific platform with no DOI, add the platform name: "Kindle edition" or "Apple Books edition." If accessed via a URL, include the full URL at the end. For example: Newport, Cal. Deep Work. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2016. Kindle edition. If the e-book has different pagination than the print version, note "unpaginated" or use chapter/section numbers in your in-text citation instead of page numbers.

How do I cite a book with multiple authors in Chicago?

For 2–3 authors, list all names in the bibliography. The first author is inverted (Last, First), and subsequent authors are in normal order: Smith, John, and Maria Garcia. Title. Place: Publisher, Year. For 4 or more authors, the bibliography lists all authors, but footnotes and in-text citations use only the first author followed by "et al." In footnotes: John Smith et al., Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page. In the author-date system: (Smith et al. 2024, 45). Note that "et al." is not italicized. For edited volumes with multiple editors, use the same pattern but add "ed." or "eds." after the names.