First, the easy way: PERRLA
In PERRLA, choose Book, then Book, e-book, or audiobook and All or part of a book. Add the author, then add a Narrator contributor for each person who reads the book. When you need to note the audiobook (it's abridged, you discuss the narration, or you quote it with a timestamp), type Audiobook in the Format box. Enter the audio publisher and year from the audiobook's own details. PERRLA adds Narr. or Narrs., the square brackets, and the italics.
Quoting a passage? When you add the citation, choose Time as the citation location and type the hours, minutes, and seconds where the quote begins.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.
The parts of the reference
1. Author
Start with the author of the book, not the narrator: last name, comma, initials. The narrator gets credit later, after the title.
Skloot, R.
Authors who read their own books get both credits: they're the author up front and the narrator after the title.
2. Year
Give the year the audiobook was published, in parentheses, followed by a period. You'll find it on the publisher's page for the audio edition, often listed as the release or on-sale date.
(2010).
3. Title
Write the book's title in italics and sentence case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.
Being mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end
4. Narrator
Right after the title, put the narrator's initials and last name in parentheses, a comma, and Narr. Two or more narrators share one Narrs. at the end, with an ampersand before the last name.
(C. Campbell & B. Turpin, Narrs.)
Copy the narrators from the audiobook's credits. The publisher's page usually lists them as "Read by."
5. [Audiobook]
After the narrator, add the word Audiobook in square brackets, then a period. It's not italicized.
(R. Petkoff, Narr.) [Audiobook].
When do you need it? APA says to note the audiobook when its content differs from the print book (an abridged version, for example) or when you want to say something about the narration. A quote with a timestamp is a third good reason, since the time only makes sense for the recording. If you listened to an unabridged audiobook and only paraphrase it, you can cite it the same way as the print or e-book.
6. Publisher
Name the company that published the audio edition. It's often a separate audio imprint of the book's publisher, like Random House Audio or Macmillan Audio. Leave out the city.
Macmillan Audio.
Audible, Libby, Spotify, Apple Books, and Hoopla are where you listened, not who published, so they don't belong in the reference. The one exception is a book Audible itself produced, like an Audible Original, where Audible really is the publisher.
7. URL
A URL is optional. If the audiobook has a public page that anyone can open, like the publisher's page for the audio edition, you can end with that link. Never use a link to your own app library or account, since your reader can't open it.
Examples
An audiobook with two narrators, quoted with a timestamp
Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, read by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin, from Random House Audio. Two narrators take the plural Narrs. This citation quotes a passage that begins 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 15 seconds into the recording.
References
Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks (C. Campbell & B. Turpin, Narrs.) [Audiobook]. Random House Audio.
- Parenthetical citation(Skloot, 2010, 1:02:15)
- Narrative citationSkloot (2010, 1:02:15)
An audiobook with one narrator
Atul Gawande's Being Mortal, a common read in nursing and palliative care courses, read by Robert Petkoff and published by Macmillan Audio in 2014.
References
Gawande, A. (2014). Being mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end (R. Petkoff, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Macmillan Audio.
- Parenthetical citation(Gawande, 2014)
- Narrative citationGawande (2014)
An audiobook read by its author
Brené Brown reads her own Dare to Lead, published by Random House Audio in 2018. She's listed once as the author and again as the narrator. The subtitle is three short sentences, so each one starts with a capital.
References
Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts (B. Brown, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Random House Audio.
- Parenthetical citation(Brown, 2018)
- Narrative citationBrown (2018)
In-text citations
An audiobook's in-text citation is the author's last name and the year, the same as for a print book. Narrators never appear in the in-text citation.
- Paraphrase: (Gawande, 2014) or Gawande (2014)
- A quote: add the timestamp where the quote begins, as hours:minutes:seconds, in place of a page number: (Skloot, 2010, 1:02:15) or Skloot (2010, 1:02:15)
- Under an hour in: minutes and seconds are enough: 42:10
Don't swap in a page number from a print copy you didn't read. The timestamp is what lets a reader with the same audiobook find your quote.
Common mistakes
- Gawande, A. (2014). Being mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end (R. Petkoff, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Audible.Gawande, A. (2014). Being mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end (R. Petkoff, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Macmillan Audio.Audible sells and streams the audiobook; Macmillan Audio published it. Name the publisher, not the app.
- Campbell, C., & Turpin, B. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks.Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks (C. Campbell & B. Turpin, Narrs.) [Audiobook].The author leads the reference. Narrators go in parentheses after the title.
- (narrated by Robert Petkoff)(R. Petkoff, Narr.)APA uses initials, the last name, and the abbreviation Narr., the same pattern as editors (Ed.) and translators (Trans.).
- Being mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end [Audiobook]Being mortal: Medicine and what matters in the end (R. Petkoff, Narr.) [Audiobook]Only the title is italic. The narrator and the bracketed description come after it in plain text.
- (Skloot, 2010, Chapter 7)(Skloot, 2010, 1:02:15)For a quote from an audiobook, APA asks for a timestamp so a listener can find the exact spot.
Quick checklist
- Author first, never the narrator
- The audiobook's year in parentheses
- Title in italics and sentence case
- Narrator in parentheses with Narr. or Narrs.
- [Audiobook] in square brackets, not italic
- The audio publisher, never Audible, Libby, or another app
- A timestamp in hours:minutes:seconds for every quote
Questions students ask
Do I have to say I listened to the audiobook?
Not always. APA says it isn't necessary when the audiobook's content is the same as the book's. Note the narrator and [Audiobook] when the content is different (such as an abridged version) or when you comment on the narration. If you quote it with a timestamp, cite the audiobook too, since the time only makes sense for the recording.
Do I include Audible in an APA citation?
No. Audible is the store and app where you listened, the way Kindle is for an e-book, and APA leaves platforms out. Use the audiobook's publisher instead, which you'll find on the publisher's page or in the audiobook's details. The exception is an Audible Original, where Audible is the publisher.
How do I cite a quote from an audiobook?
Use a timestamp in place of the page number: the hours, minutes, and seconds where the quote begins, like (Skloot, 2010, 1:02:15). Paraphrases don't need a timestamp, though you can add one if it would help a reader find the spot.
What if the author narrates the audiobook?
List the author first as usual, and also list them as the narrator after the title: Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts (B. Brown, Narr.) [Audiobook]. The in-text citation is still just (Brown, 2018).
Which year do I use for an audiobook?
Use the year the audiobook edition came out, from the publisher's page for the audio edition. For an older work recorded much later, like a classic, use the audiobook's year and add the original publication year, as you would for a republished book.
What if there's more than one narrator?
List every narrator credited, with initials before last names, an ampersand before the last one, and Narrs. at the end: (C. Campbell & B. Turpin, Narrs.).
Related guides
Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.28, 9.21, 9.29, and 10.2, and the APA Style website's pages on book and e-book references, elements of reference list entries, and direct quotations of material without page numbers. Example sources verified against each audiobook's page from its publisher, Penguin Random House and Macmillan.