What is an Anthology?

Some of the world’s best known and most well-respected written works are not books themselves, but rather sections or parts of anthologies. An anthology is a collective work that is completely made up of material from other authors. Anthologies can contain numerous poems, shorty stories, essays, and other documents. The person who puts together all of this information into one anthology is called a compiler.

Often, anthologies contain works that are all aligned around the same central idea or theme. For example, 100 Best Love Poems contains work that are all poems about love. Some anthologies, however, contain not just one type of writing, such as poetry. Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet, for example, can contain essays, studies, and even collections of photographs.

So how are anthologies included in works cited pages and bibliographies? Let’s look at a few examples of how to cite an anthology in your paper.

Typically, if you are interested in citing an anthology as an entire work, you would follow similar guidelines to citing books. If, however, you are citing just one work within an anthology, follow a similar format to citing book chapters.

How to cite an anthology in MLA format

Complete work:

Editor(s) Last Name, First Name, editor(s). Anthology Title. Publisher, Year Published.

Work within anthology:

Author Last name, First name. “Title of Section.” Anthology Title, edited by Editor’s Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Examples:

Edmonson, Dwayne, editor. Beyond Science Fiction: A Complete Anthology. Dark Star Publishing, 2016.

Davy, Laura. “An Average Citizen.” Beyond Science Fiction: A Complete Anthology, edited by Dwayne Edmonson, Dark Star Publishing, 2016, pp. 13-24.

How to cite an anthology as an APA citation

Complete work:

Editor Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Ed.). (Year Published). Anthology title (Volume number or edition info). City of Publication, State: Publisher.

Work within an anthology:

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year Published). Title of section. In Editor First Initial. Editor Middle Initial. Editor Last Name (Ed.), Anthology title (Volume number, edition info, or page numbers). City of Publication, State: Publisher.

Examples:

Edmonson, D. (Ed.). (2016). Beyond science fiction: A complete anthology (Vol.2). Paterson, NJ: Dark Star Publishing.

Davy, L. (2016). An average citizen. In D. Edmonson (Ed.), Beyond science fiction: A complete anthology (Vol. 2, pp. 25-26). Paterson, NJ: Dark Star Publishing.

How to cite an anthology in Chicago format

Complete work:

FOOTNOTE: Footnote number. First Name Last Name, ed. Title of Anthology (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page numbers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Last Name, First Name, ed. Title of Anthology. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

Work within an anthology:
FOOTNOTE: Footnote number. Author’s Name, “Title of Essay/Chapter/Article,” in Title of Anthology, ed. Editor’s Name (Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication), page numbers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Essay/Chapter/ Article.” In Title of Anthology, edited by Editor’s Name, pages of essay/chapter/article. Place of publication: Publisher, Year of publication.

Examples (whole anthology):
¹ Dwayne Edmonson, ed. Beyond Science Fiction: A Complete Anthology (Paterson, NJ: Dark Star Publishing, 2016), 25-26.

Edmonson, Dwayne, ed. Beyond Science Fiction: A Complete Anthology. Paterson, NJ: Dark Star Publishing, 2016.

Examples (section of anthology):

¹Laura Davy, “An Average Citizen,” in Beyond Science Fiction: A Complete Anthology, ed. Dwayne Edmonson (Paterson, NJ: Dark Star Publishing, 2016), 13-24.

Davy, Laura. “An Average Citizen.” In Beyond Science Fiction: A Complete Anthology, edited by Dwayne Edmonson, 13-24. Paterson, NJ: Dark Star Publishing, 2016.