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Chicago Author-Date Book Citation

Generate Chicago Author-Date citations from ISBNs, titles, or URLs.

Journal article
Example result
Watson, J. D., & Crick, F. H. C. (1953). Molecular structure of nucleic acids: A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature, 171(4356), 737–738. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0
Complete · All key fields present
Chicago 17th (Author-Date)
Watson, James D., and Francis H. C. Crick. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature, vol. 171, no. 4356, 1953, pp. 737–738. DOI: 10.1038/171737a0.
Complete · All key fields present
Chicago 17th (Author-Date)
Watson, James D., and Francis H. C. Crick. 1953. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature 171 (4356): 737–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
Complete · All key fields present

Chicago Format for Book References
17th (Author-Date)

Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title of Book: Subtitle. Publisher.
Author
  • List authors in the order they appear in the book.
  • Format: Lastname, Firstname Middle.
  • For one to ten authors, list all authors in the reference list. Example: Smith, John, Emily Brown, and David Clark.
  • For eleven or more authors, list only the first seven authors, followed by et al. Example: Smith, John, Emily Brown, David Clark, et al.
  • If the work is authored by an organization, use the organization name as the author. Example: World Health Organization.
Year
  • Use the book’s publication year.
  • If the year is not available, use n.d. Example: Smith, John. n.d.
Title of the Book
  • Write the title in italics.
  • Use headline-style capitalization (capitalize major words). Example: The History of Modern Science
  • Include subtitles after a colon. Example: The History of Modern Science: A Global Perspective
  • Do not place quotation marks around book titles.
Publisher
  • List the publisher’s name only.
  • Omit business words like Inc., Ltd., or Co. unless needed for clarity.
  • If multiple publishers are listed, separate them with semicolons.

Chicago Author-Date Book Examples

One author

When a book has a single author, list the author's last name and first name, followed by the publication year and the italicized book title.
Example:
Kahneman, Daniel. 2011. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Doubleday Canada.

Two authors

List both authors. The first author’s name is inverted (Lastname, Firstname). The second author’s name appears in normal order. Join the names with “and.”
Example:
Thomas, Ken D., and Helen E. Muga. 2014. Handbook of Research on Pedagogical Innovations for Sustainable Development. IGI Global.

Three to Ten Authors

List all authors in the order they appear in the book. Only the first author’s name is inverted. Separate the final two names with “and.”
Example:
Campbell, Donald T., Julian C. Stanley, and Nathaniel L. Gage. 1963. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Houghton Mifflin.

Eleven or More Authors

For works with eleven or more authors, list the first seven authors followed by et al.
Example:
Stryer, Lubert, Jeremy M. Berg, John L. Tymoczko, Gregory J. Gatto Jr., James S. Cox, and Katherine A. Denny, et al. 2019. Biochemistry. W. H. Freeman.

Organization as Author

If the book is authored by an organization, list the organization's name in the author position.
Example:
World Health Organization. 2019. World Health Statistics 2019: Monitoring Health for the Sdgs, Sustainable Development Goals.

No Date Available

When the publication year is unavailable, replace the year with n.d.
Example:
Bank, World, and World Health Organization. n.d. Behavioral Science Around the World Volume III: Public Health. World Bank and World Health Organization. https://doi.org/10.1596/41640.

In-Text Citations

Chicago Author-Date cites books in the text by giving the author’s last name and the year, with page numbers added for specific passages. The year appears in parentheses when the author is named in the sentence, and both the author and the year appear in parentheses when the author is not mentioned.

Basic citation styles

Parenthetical citation

The author and year appear together inside parentheses.

The results are consistent with previous findings (Stryer 2019).

Narrative citation

The author is part of the sentence. The year appears in parentheses.

Stryer (2019) discusses this in detail.

One to Three Authors

Parenthetical citation

Include every author’s last name, followed by the year.

The data support this conclusion (Stryer, Berg, and Patel 2019).

Narrative citation

List all authors when they appear in the sentence.

Stryer, Berg, and Patel (2019) explain this clearly.

Four or More Authors

Parenthetical citation

Use the first author’s last name, et al., and the year in parentheses.

This effect appears consistently (Chen et al. 2021).

Narrative citation

Name the first author in the sentence and use et al. before the year.

Chen et al. (2021) report similar findings.

Organization as Author

Parenthetical citation

Treat the organization’s full name as the author in parentheses.

Similar patterns appear nationwide (American Psychological Association 2020).

Narrative citation

Write out the organization name in the sentence and place the year in parentheses.

American Psychological Association (2020) reports comparable results.

No Author

Parenthetical citation

Use a shortened title in quotation marks in place of the author, followed by the year.

This trend is increasing (“Global Fitness Trends” 2022).

Narrative citation

Work the shortened title into the sentence and keep the year in parentheses.

“Global Fitness Trends” (2022) highlights key demographic changes.

Multiple Works by the Same Author in the Same Year

Parenthetical citation

Add a, b, etc., after the year for each work.

The findings remain consistent across both studies (Baker 2020a, 2020b).

Narrative citation

Use the same letters when the author appears in the sentence.

Baker (2020a, 2020b) identifies two phases of development.

Citing Specific Pages or Chapters

Parenthetical citation

Add a comma and the page or chapter number after the year.

This point is emphasized (Stryer 2019, 45).

Narrative citation

Include the page or chapter number with the year in parentheses.

Stryer (2019, 45) discusses this limitation.

Quick Checklist

Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them

Mistake 1

Using sentence case instead of headline-style capitalization

Chicago Author-Date uses headline-style capitalization for book titles in the reference list. Major words are capitalized; minor words are lowercase unless they start the title or subtitle.

Wrong

✕ the psychology of learning

Correct

✓ The Psychology of Learning

Mistake 2

Italicizing only part of the title

The entire book title and subtitle must be italicized in Chicago Author-Date.

Wrong

✕ The Psychology of Learning

Correct

✓ The Psychology of Learning

Mistake 3

Using “Title Case” for subtitles but not the main title

Both the title and subtitle must follow headline-style capitalization.

Wrong

✕ The Psychology of Learning: A practical guide

Correct

✓ The Psychology of Learning: A Practical Guide

Mistake 4

Including the publisher’s location

Chicago Author-Date does not include city or country in book citations. List the publisher name only.

Wrong

✕ Cambridge University Press, New York, NY.

Correct

✓ Cambridge University Press.

Mistake 5

Using “and” instead of commas between multiple authors

In the reference list, Chicago uses commas to separate authors and “and” only before the final author.

Wrong

✕ Stryer and Lee and Patel.

Correct

✓ Stryer, Lee, and Patel.

Mistake 6

Using only the first author + et al. for fewer than 11 authors

In Chicago Author-Date, all authors must be listed when a work has 1–10 authors. Use et al. only when there are 11 or more authors in the reference list.

Wrong

✕ Stryer et al. 2019.

Correct

✓ Stryer, Lee, and Patel. 2019.

Mistake 7

Forgetting to include the edition

When citing a non–first edition, Chicago requires placing the edition after the title.

Wrong

✕ The Psychology of Learning. Cambridge University Press.

Correct

✓ The Psychology of Learning. 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press.

Mistake 8

Adding “DOI:” before the DOI

Chicago Author-Date uses URL format only. No “DOI:” label.

Wrong

✕ DOI: 10.1037/xxx

Correct

✓ https://doi.org/10.1037/xxx

Mistake 9

Incorrect order of elements

Chicago requires the sequence: Author. Year. Title. Edition. Publisher. DOI (if available).

Wrong

✕ Year → Author → DOI → Title → Publisher

Correct

✓ Author → Year → Title → Edition → Publisher → DOI

Mistake 10

Using initials instead of full first names

Chicago Author-Date requires full first names spelled out only in the reference list, not initials.

Wrong

✕ Smith, J.

Correct

✓ Smith, John.

Chicago Author-Date Book Citation FAQ

If a book has no author, begin the reference with the title in italics. Follow it with the publication year and the publisher.

Title of Book. 2020. Publisher.

In-text citations use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks, followed by the year.

Product
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Guides
APA Citation Guide MLA Citation Guide Chicago Author–Date Guide
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