Anthology Citation Generator
Cite a whole anthology or edited collection: enter the editors, the title, the edition, the publisher and the year, and get the reference and in-text citation in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles. Citing just one story or poem inside it? Use the chapter tool. Free, no sign-up.
How to Cite an Anthology
- 1. Decide what you are citing. Citing the whole edited collection? The editors go in the author field — APA renders them with (Eds.), MLA with "editors". Citing one story, poem, or essay inside it? Use the book chapter citation generator instead — that work gets its own author, title, and page range.
- 2. Enter the collection details and pick a style. Add the anthology's title, edition, publisher, and year, then choose APA, MLA, Chicago, or any of the 10,834 styles. The editor labels and punctuation switch automatically with the style.
- 3. Generate. We build a full edited-collection reference with the editors credited correctly. Edit any field, then copy or export it to BibTeX, RIS, CSV, or Word.
Anthology Citation Examples
An anthology with two editors. The details are illustrative; swap in your own.
APA 7th edition
Reference list:
Fuentes, L., & Rahman, A. (Eds.). (2019). Short story anthology. Harbor Press.
In-text (parenthetical):
(Fuentes & Rahman, 2019)
In-text (narrative):
Fuentes and Rahman (2019)
MLA 9th edition
Works Cited:
Fuentes, Laura, and Ahmed Rahman, editors. Short Story Anthology. Harbor Press, 2019.
In-text citation:
(Fuentes and Rahman)
Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography)
Footnote:
Laura Fuentes and Ahmed Rahman, eds., Short Story Anthology (Harbor Press, 2019).
Bibliography:
Fuentes, Laura, and Ahmed Rahman, eds. Short Story Anthology. Harbor Press, 2019.
With an edition, add it after the title: (2nd ed.) in APA, 2nd ed. in MLA and Chicago. Chicago encloses the publisher and the year in parentheses in a note, so check that your copy has them.
Whole Anthology or One Piece?
The most common anthology mistake is citing the collection when you read one piece in it. Cite the whole collection only when your point is about the collection itself — the editors' selection, their introduction, or the volume as a whole. If you quote or discuss a single story, poem or essay, cite that piece, with the anthology as its container.
| You are using | Cite | Use |
|---|---|---|
| The whole collection, or the editors' own introduction | The anthology, with the editors first | This page |
| One story or essay with its own author | The piece, in the anthology | Book Chapter Citation Generator |
| One poem | The poem, in the anthology | Poem Citation Generator |
| A book translated by someone else | The book, with the translator named | Translated Book Citation Generator |
In MLA, if you cite two or more pieces from the same anthology, you can give the anthology one full entry and shorten each piece to the author, the title and the editors' surnames with the page range. This saves repeating the publication details.
MLA 9 cross-references (illustrative)
The anthology:
Fuentes, Laura, and Ahmed Rahman, editors. Short Story Anthology. Harbor Press, 2019.
A story in it:
Okoye, Ada. “The Last Ferry.” Fuentes and Rahman, pp. 12–24.
Another story:
Silva, Mateo. “Salt Road.” Fuentes and Rahman, pp. 91–103.
Editors in Each Style
| APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marker after the names | (Ed.) or (Eds.) | editor or editors | ed. or eds. |
| Name order | Surname, initials | Surname, First for the first editor; normal order after | Surname, First for the first editor; normal order after |
| Three or more editors | All listed, up to 20 | First editor and et al. | Bibliography: up to six, or first three and et al. from seven. Notes: first editor and et al. from three |
| In text | (Fuentes & Rahman, 2019) | (Fuentes and Rahman) | Footnote with the editors, then the shortened note |
Common Mistakes
- Putting the anthology's title first. An edited collection starts with its editors, with the role marked. Only a collection with no named editor starts with the title.
- Leaving the role off. (Ed.), editor and ed. tell readers these are editors, not writers.
- Citing the collection for a single story. The story's own author should be the first name in the reference.
- Dropping the edition. Anthologies are revised often, and the pieces and page numbers change between editions. Cite the edition you read.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite an anthology in APA 7?
- Put the editors in the author position with (Ed.) or (Eds.) after the names, then the year, the title in italics and the publisher: Fuentes, L., & Rahman, A. (Eds.). (2019). Short story anthology. Harbor Press. In text: (Fuentes & Rahman, 2019).
- How do I cite an anthology in MLA 9?
- Start with the editors followed by the word editor or editors, then the title in italics, the publisher and the year: Fuentes, Laura, and Ahmed Rahman, editors. Short Story Anthology. Harbor Press, 2019. In text: (Fuentes and Rahman).
- How do I cite an anthology in Chicago style?
- The note gives the editors in normal order with eds., and the publication details in parentheses. The bibliography entry reverses the first editor's name. Both abbreviate the role to ed. or eds.
- Should I cite the whole anthology or just the work I read?
- Just the work you read. A story, poem or essay has its own author and title, and the anthology is only where it appears. Cite the anthology itself only when you refer to the collection or its editors' contribution.
- How do I cite one poem or story from an anthology?
- Use the Book Chapter Citation Generator, which puts the piece's author and title first and the anthology and its editors after them. For a poem you can also use the Poem Citation Generator.
- What is the difference between an anthology and an edited book?
- In citation terms, none. Both are collections put together by editors, and both are cited with the editors first. An anthology gathers existing works, while an edited book usually collects new chapters, but the format is the same.