PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Republished or reprinted book

How to Cite a Republished or Reprinted Book in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a republished book gives the author's last name and first name, the title in italics, the year the book first came out, and then the edition you read: any editor or edition, the publisher, and that edition's year. Benner, Patricia. From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. 1984. Commemorative ed., Prentice Hall, 2001. The in-text citation is the author's last name and the page, with no dates: (Benner 13).

The format

Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book. Original Year. Edited by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year.

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

In PERRLA, choose Book, then Book, e-book, or audiobook, then the kind Republished book. Fill in the details from your copy: the author, the title, the year on your edition's copyright page in Publication Year, any Edition, and your edition's publisher. Add a new editor as an Editor contributor. Then type the year the book first came out in Original Publication Year.

PERRLA puts the original year right after the title, then the editor after Edited by, then your edition's publisher and year, and keeps the in-text citation to the name and the page. Can't find the original year? Choose All or part of a book instead and cite your edition as an ordinary book.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Author

The original author goes first: last name, a comma, and the first name as the book prints it. A republished book keeps its author even when someone else edited the new edition or wrote a new introduction.

Peplau, Hildegard E.

2. Title

Write the title of your edition in italics and title case, with any subtitle after a colon, followed by a period.

Interpersonal Relations in Nursing: A Conceptual Frame of Reference for Psychodynamic Nursing.

3. Original publication year

Right after the title, give the year the book first came out, followed by a period. MLA calls this a supplemental element: it's optional, but it's what tells your reader that a 1991 reissue is really a 1952 classic.

1952.

Want to name the original publisher too? That goes at the very end of the entry instead, as Originally published by, the publisher, and the year.

4. Editor or edition

If your edition credits a new editor, write Edited by and the editor's name in normal order, followed by a comma. Named editions, like a commemorative or anniversary edition, go here too, abbreviated to ed. Both start with a capital, because they follow the original year's period.

Edited by Sara Salih,

Commemorative ed.,

5. Publisher

Give the publisher of your edition, not the original one, followed by a comma. Leave out business words like Company, Inc., and Ltd. Keep Publishing if it's part of the name.

Springer Publishing,

6. Year of your edition

End with the year of the edition you read, from its copyright page, then a period. Ignore printing lines like "tenth printing, 2004": MLA doesn't track printings, only editions.

1991.

Read it online? Add the DOI or the URL after the year, with a comma before it and a period after.

Examples

A classic reissued by a new publisher

Hildegard Peplau's foundational nursing theory book was first published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1952. Springer Publishing Company reissued it in 1991.

  • In-text citation(Peplau)
  • Narrative citationPeplau describes …

A commemorative or anniversary edition

Patricia Benner's From Novice to Expert first came out from Addison-Wesley in 1984. Prentice Hall published the commemorative edition in 2001. The edition label follows the original year, before the publisher.

  • In-text citation(Benner 13)
  • Narrative citationAs Benner explains, … (13).

A republished book with a new editor

Mary Seacole's 1857 memoir of nursing in the Crimean War, republished by Penguin Classics in 2005 and edited by Sara Salih. Seacole stays the author; the editor follows the original year with Edited by.

  • In-text citation(Seacole 73)
  • Narrative citationSeacole recalls … (73).

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for a republished book is the author's last name and the page, with no comma. MLA in-text citations don't carry dates, so neither year appears.

  • One author: (Benner 13)
  • A new editor: cite the author, not the editor: (Seacole 73)
  • No page to point to: the name alone: (Peplau)
  • Name in your sentence: put only the page in parentheses at the end: Seacole recalls … (73).
  • Want readers to know how old the book is? Say it in your sentence: In her 1857 memoir, Seacole recalls … (73).

If you cite two books by the same author, add a short version of the title: (Benner, From Novice 13).

Common mistakes

  • (Peplau, 1952/1991)(Peplau)That's APA. MLA in-text citations give the name and a page, never the years.
  • Peplau, Hildegard E. Interpersonal Relations in Nursing: … Springer Publishing, 1952.Peplau, Hildegard E. Interpersonal Relations in Nursing: … 1952. Springer Publishing, 1991.The publisher and year at the end belong to the edition you read. Pairing Springer with 1952 points to a book that doesn't exist; the original year goes right after the title.
  • Seacole, Mary, and Sara Salih.Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands. 1857. Edited by Sara Salih,The editor of a republished edition isn't a coauthor. The editor goes after the title and the original year, with Edited by.
  • Springer Publishing Company, 1991.Springer Publishing, 1991.MLA drops business words like Company and Inc. from publishers' names.
  • Springer Publishing, 1991. (Original work published 1952)… 1952. Springer Publishing, 1991.That closing note is APA's. In MLA, the original year sits right after the title, with no label or parentheses.

Quick checklist

  • Original author first, full first name as printed
  • Title of your edition in italics and title case
  • Original year right after the title
  • Edited by or the edition label next
  • Your edition's publisher and year at the end
  • In text: name and page, no years

Questions students ask

What's the difference between a republished book and a new edition?

A republished or reprinted book is the same work brought back into print, sometimes with a new introduction or editor. A new edition, like a 7th edition textbook, is a revised version. A new edition gets its edition number after the title and no original year.

Do I have to include the original publication date in MLA?

MLA makes it optional, but it's worth adding for a republished book. It tells your reader the work is older than your copy, and it costs one year after the title: Interpersonal Relations in Nursing: … 1952. Springer Publishing, 1991.

Which year goes at the end of the entry?

The year of the edition you read, from its copyright page. The original year goes after the title. Skip later printing dates; MLA cites the edition, not the printing.

What if I can't find the original publication date?

Then cite your edition as an ordinary book, with only its own year. Check the copyright page first, since it usually lists earlier dates, and a library catalog or the publisher's page often says when the book first appeared.

Do I list the original publisher?

Only if it helps your reader. MLA lets you add it at the very end of the entry: Originally published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1952. When you do, you can leave the year out after the title, since the end of the entry gives it.

Does the original year go in my in-text citation?

No. MLA in-text citations give the author and the page: (Benner 13). If the date matters to your point, say it in your sentence instead: Benner's 1984 study argues … (13).

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements and the supplemental elements, sections 5.105–5.119, with 5.108 on original publication dates and 5.114 on publication history) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on reprinted books, original publication information, dates of works in your prose, printings, and Publishing in publishers' names. Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page: Library of Congress data via Open Library for Peplau (Springer, 1991, by Hildegard E. Peplau) and Benner (Prentice Hall, 2001, commemorative edition), and Penguin's listing for Seacole (Penguin Classics, 2005, edited by Sara Salih). MLA needed no detail beyond the full first names those records print.

PERRLA builds the republished-book entry with the original year after the title and your edition's details where MLA puts them.

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