How to cite an audiobook comes down to four building blocks: author, title, narrator, and publisher, arranged in whatever order the citation system you’re using requires. MLA, APA, and Chicago each place these details differently, and each one also swaps the printed page number for a timestamp from the recording, since there’s nothing to point to on a page.
This guide walks through the reference-list entry, the in-text citation, and the small publication details (edition, narrator, running time) that trip up most students the first time they write citations for one.
What You Need Before You Cite an Audiobook
Gather this information from the title screen or the app’s details tab before you start citing. Most streaming platforms, including Audible, Libby, and Spotify, list every field below on the same product page, so you rarely need to search anywhere else.
- Author of the original book, listed last name first
- Title, in italics
- Narrator, sometimes listed as “read by” on the platform
- Publisher of the recorded edition (this can differ from the print publisher)
- Publication date of the recorded edition, not the original print date
- Format tag, written as “Audiobook” per most citation guides
These six details cover almost every case you will run into, whether you are citing a single title or a whole shelf of recordings for a research project.
Crediting the reader is optional in APA and Chicago but required in MLA. When in doubt, include it. Specificity never hurts a reference.
How to Cite an Audiobook in MLA Style
MLA credits the narrator as a contributor and labels the format explicitly. According to the Library of Congress citation guide, MLA entries always list the container and any relevant contributors right after the main heading.
MLA Works Cited Entry
Author Last Name, First Name. Title. Narrated by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year. Audiobook.
Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. Narrated by Ann Dowd et al., Penguin Random House Audio, 2019. Audiobook.
Need a ready-made MLA title page to go with this reference list? The MLA title page generator formats one in a few clicks.
MLA In-Text Citation
Since there are no printed pages to reference, MLA in-text citations use the author’s last name alone, or add a timestamp when you want to point to an exact moment in the recording.
Example: (Atwood) or (Atwood 01:12:45)
How to Cite an Audiobook in APA Style
APA treats this citation almost identically to a print book citation. The format note goes in brackets right after the title, and the reader is credited only when their performance is central to your discussion.
APA Reference List Entry
Author, A. A. (Year). Title (Narrator, Narrator). Publisher. (Original work published Year)
Atwood, M. (2019). The testaments (A. Dowd, Narrator). Penguin Random House Audio.
APA In-Text Citation
APA substitutes a timestamp for the missing pagination when you quote directly from the recording.
Example: (Atwood, 2019, 1:12:45)
Need an APA-formatted title page instead? The APA title page generator builds one from the same details.
How to Cite an Audiobook in Chicago Style
Chicago is the most detailed of the three. It calls for the reader’s full name, and, unlike MLA or APA, it also expects the total running time in hours and minutes so a reader can locate a quoted passage without a printed index.
Chicago Bibliography Entry
Author Last Name, First Name. Title. Narrated by First Name Last Name. Publisher, Year. Audiobook, [running time].
Atwood, Margaret. The Testaments. Narrated by Ann Dowd et al. Penguin Random House Audio, 2019. Audiobook, 15 hr., 3 min.
Chicago Footnote
Chicago’s notes-bibliography system cites the work in a numbered footnote the first time it appears, then shortens the reference on later mentions.
Example: 1. Margaret Atwood, The Testaments, narrated by Ann Dowd et al. (Penguin Random House Audio, 2019), audiobook, 1:12:45.
How to Cite an Audiobook With More Than One Reader
Full-cast productions and some nonfiction titles credit two or more people in the “read by” line, and each style handles the list a little differently once you go past a single name.
- MLA: list every credited reader separated by commas, or switch to “et al.” after the first name once there are three or more: Narrated by Ann Dowd, Bryce Dallas Howard, et al.
- APA: list each person in the parenthetical performer note, separated by commas, in the same order the audiobook credits them: (A. Dowd, B. D. Howard, Narrators).
- Chicago: spell out every credited name in the bibliography entry the first time, then shorten to the lead performer plus “et al.” in later footnotes.
MLA vs APA vs Chicago: Audiobook Citation at a Glance
The three citation systems agree on the core building blocks (author, title, publisher, date) but differ on how much credit the reader gets and how they substitute for a missing page number, as this quick comparison shows.
| Element | MLA | APA | Chicago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reader credit | Required | Optional | Recommended |
| Format note | “Audiobook” | In brackets after the title | “Audiobook” plus running time |
| In-text page substitute | Timestamp | Timestamp | Timestamp in footnote |
| Publisher listed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Common Audiobook Citation Mistakes
| Mistake | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Using the print publisher or date | Citing the print publisher and print publication date instead of the recorded edition’s publisher and date. That release is often issued years after the print book, by a different publisher entirely. |
| Dropping the narrator in MLA | Leaving the reader’s name out entirely. MLA treats this contributor credit as required, not an optional add-on. |
| Borrowing a print page number | Using a page number from the print edition instead of a timestamp from the recording you actually listened to. |
Which Citation Format Should You Use for Your Assignment?
Your instructor or publication usually decides this for you, so check the assignment sheet first. English and humanities courses default to MLA, psychology and social-science courses default to APA, and history or fine-arts courses often ask for Chicago’s notes-and-bibliography system instead.
If nothing is specified, MLA is the safest default for a high school or undergraduate essay, since it is the format most writing centers teach first. Graduate coursework and journal submissions lean toward APA or Chicago far more often, so it is worth confirming with a syllabus or a submission guideline before you commit to one format across a whole paper.
Whichever format you land on, keep it consistent from the first reference to the last. Mixing formats within one paper, even for a single source, is one of the fastest ways to lose easy points on a rubric that checks for consistent formatting. A quick search of your school’s writing center site or a five-minute conversation with your instructor will settle any remaining doubt faster than guessing from a search engine result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to the questions readers ask most often about audiobook citations, covering credit rules, missing pagination, abridged editions, and streaming platforms.
Do I always need to credit the reader?
In MLA, yes. In APA and Chicago, crediting the reader is optional unless their performance or interpretation is part of your argument, in which case include it for clarity.
What if the recording has no page numbers?
Use a timestamp instead. Most citation guides, including the Frederick Community College library guide, confirm a timestamp is an acceptable substitute in an in-text citation.
How do I cite an abridged edition?
Add “abridged” or “abridged edition” right after the title, the same way you would note any other edition information for a print book. This tells your reader the recording is not the complete text.
Can I cite one from Audible, Libby, or Spotify?
Yes. Cite the work itself (author, title, credited reader, publisher, date) rather than the streaming app it came from. The MCC library’s APA 7th edition guide and the University of Iowa Chicago style guide both treat streaming-platform releases the same as a physical copy.
Do citation generators handle these correctly?
Most citation tools ask for the format and reader name as separate optional fields. Our own citation generator builds a complete MLA, APA, or Chicago entry once you enter the author, title, reader, publisher, and date.
Once you are comfortable with this format, the same logic carries over to other recorded and media sources.
- Closest formats to an audiobook: podcasts, music, and YouTube videos.
- Every guide we cover sits in the citation hub, including books.
- Working a reference into a sentence rather than quoting it: how to paraphrase and how to introduce quotations.
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Written by
Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.