How to Cite a Book in Chicago 17 — Free Generator with Examples

To cite a book in Chicago 17 (notes-bibliography) bibliography: Author Last, First. Title of Book. Edition. City: Publisher, Year. Example: Smith, John A. The Complete Guide to Research Writing. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023.

The free citation generator handles Chicago formatting. Below covers both bibliography and footnote, plus the one Chicago-specific detail most students miss: the city of publication.

Chicago 17 book format — element by element

Bibliography:

Author Last, First. Title. Edition. City: Publisher, Year.

• Author: Last, First. Inverted for alphabetical ordering.
• Title: Italicized, title case.
• Edition: "3rd ed." after title. Skip for first editions.
• City: City of publication. Chicago 17 keeps this (APA 7 and MLA 9 dropped it). Use the first city listed if multiple.
• Publisher: Full publisher name. Colon after city.
• Year: Publication year.

The city of publication is the Chicago-specific detail. If you see a book citation without a city and the style is supposed to be Chicago, it's probably not formatted correctly.

Footnote format for books

Chicago footnotes differ from bibliography format:

1. First Last, Title (City: Publisher, Year), page.

Example: 1. John A. Smith, The Complete Guide to Research Writing, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023), 45.

Differences from bibliography:

• Author name in first-last order.
• Publisher info in parentheses.
• Specific page number at end.
• Commas instead of periods.

Subsequent footnotes use shortened form:

2. Smith, Research Writing, 67.

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Multiple authors, editors, chapters

2 authors: Smith, John A., and Sarah B. Lee. Title. City: Publisher, Year.

3 authors: List all. Smith, John A., Sarah B. Lee, and Michael C. Brown. Title. City: Publisher, Year.

4+ authors: Bibliography lists all; footnote uses first + "et al." Smith, John A., Sarah B. Lee, Michael C. Brown, and Karen D. Taylor. Title. In footnote: Smith et al., Title, 45.

Edited books: Brown, Karen, ed. Handbook of Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023.

Chapter in edited book: Lee, Sarah. "Sleep Deprivation in Students." In Handbook of Research Methods, edited by Karen Brown, 45–62. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023.

E-books, translations, and special cases

E-books: Include edition info. Smith, John A. Title. Kindle ed. City: Publisher, Year.

Translated works: Author. Title. Translated by Translator Name. City: Publisher, Year.

Example: García Márquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude. Translated by Gregory Rabassa. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.

Classics / original publication year: Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. 1859. Reprint, New York: Penguin Classics, 2003.

Textbooks: Standard book format. Include edition number for 2nd+ editions (common in textbooks).

Chapter in anthology: Same as chapter in edited book — chapter title in quotes, book title italicized, editor and page range included.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Chicago 17 still include the city of publication?

Chicago 17 kept the tradition because it's useful for disambiguation (multiple publishers with the same name, different editions from different regions). APA and MLA dropped it for simplicity. If your citation is meant for Chicago, include the city.

What if the book has multiple cities of publication listed?

Use the first city listed on the title page. If the publisher has locations in multiple countries, use the US or home-country location primarily. Don't list all cities.

Is Turabian the same as Chicago 17 for books?

Essentially yes. Turabian is Chicago's student-paper adaptation. For book citations, the output is identical or nearly so.

How do I cite a chapter I only read from a photocopied handout?

Cite the chapter as if from its original book (which the handout reproduces). Include the full book citation — photocopying doesn't change what you're citing.