How to cite a book in Chicago style (18th ed.)

Chicago has two systems. Notes and bibliography uses footnotes and is common in history and the humanities. Author-date uses short citations in your text and is common in the sciences. Ask your instructor which one to use.

The 18th edition (2024) changed a few things. The biggest: you no longer need the city of publication. Just give the publisher and year.

Notes and bibliography

Full note (the first time you cite the book):

1. First Last, Title of Book (Publisher, Year), page.

Short note (every time after that):

2. Last, Short Title, page.

Bibliography entry:

Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Example with two authors and a second edition:

1. Mara Quillfeather and Tobias Venn, Tides of Invention: A Fictional History of Lighthouses, 2nd ed. (Harbor Lane Press, 2023), 112.

2. Quillfeather and Venn, Tides of Invention, 120.

Quillfeather, Mara, and Tobias Venn. Tides of Invention: A Fictional History of Lighthouses. 2nd ed. Harbor Lane Press, 2023.

The 18th edition prefers short notes to “ibid.” for repeated citations.

Author-date

Reference list entry (the year comes right after the author):

Last, First. Year. Title of Book. Publisher.

Quillfeather, Mara, and Tobias Venn. 2023. Tides of Invention: A Fictional History of Lighthouses. 2nd ed. Harbor Lane Press.

In-text citation:

(Quillfeather and Venn 2023, 112)

Authors

• One author: normal order in notes (Mara Quillfeather). In the bibliography or reference list, last name first (Quillfeather, Mara).
• Two authors: join with “and”. In the bibliography, only the first name is inverted.
• Three or more: in notes and in-text citations, give the first author plus “et al.” In the bibliography or reference list, list up to six authors. For seven or more, list the first three, then “et al.”
• Same author twice in a row: repeat the name. The 18th edition no longer uses a long dash in its place.

Editions and e-books

• For a second or later edition, add “2nd ed.” (or “3rd ed.”, and so on) after the title.
• For an e-book read online, add the link (a DOI link if there is one) or the database name.
• For a downloaded e-book, name the format, such as Kindle. If it has no fixed page numbers, cite a chapter or section instead (for example, chap. 6).
• Books published before 1900 may give the city instead of the publisher.