How to Capitalize a Book Title: Rules and Examples
Learn how to capitalize book titles in APA, MLA, Chicago, and AP style, including subtitles, prepositions, hyphenated words, citations, and examples.
Book title capitalization seems straightforward until the title contains a subtitle, a long preposition, a hyphenated compound, or a word such as “to.” The correct capitalization can also change depending on whether the title appears on a cover, in running text, or in a reference list.
The first question is therefore not just “How do I capitalize this book title?” It is “Which style and context am I using?”
Book Covers Can Use Design Capitalization
A book cover is a designed object. A designer may use:
ALL CAPS
all lowercase
Title Case
or other typography for visual reasons.
That display choice does not necessarily determine how the book title should appear in an essay, bibliography, review, article, or citation.
When writing the title in prose, follow the required style guide.
General Book Title Case
A common title case pattern capitalizes:
- The first word
- The last word
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- The first word of a subtitle
- Other major words defined by the style
Articles, conjunctions, and some prepositions may remain lowercase in the middle.
Example:
The Art of Clear Writing
“The,” “Art,” “Clear,” and “Writing” are capitalized. “of” remains lowercase.
Book Subtitles
A subtitle commonly follows a colon.
Example:
The Art of Clear Writing: A Guide for Editors
“A” is capitalized because it begins the subtitle.
The rest of the subtitle follows the selected title style.
This rule remains useful across major styles even though they disagree on some internal words.
APA Book Title Capitalization
APA context is especially important.
When a book title appears in the body of an APA paper, it is generally styled in title case:
The Psychology of Everyday Decision Making
When a book title appears as the title element in an APA reference entry, it generally uses sentence case:
The psychology of everyday decision making
Proper nouns retain their capitals.
This is one of the most common APA capitalization traps.
MLA Book Title Capitalization
MLA uses title style for English language book titles.
Example:
The History of Writing about Language
Prepositions are generally lowercase in the middle regardless of length.
That means a word such as “about” can remain lowercase in MLA even though APA, AP, and Chicago 18 can capitalize it.
Book titles are also generally italicized in MLA when they are standalone works, but capitalization and italics are separate formatting decisions.
Chicago Book Title Capitalization
Chicago is widely used in book publishing.
Chicago 18 capitalizes prepositions of five letters or more.
Example:
Thinking About Books and Reading
“About” is capitalized.
A four letter preposition can remain lowercase:
Writing with Editors
Chicago also has detailed guidance for subtitles, titles within titles, series names, and other publishing situations.
AP Book Title Capitalization
AP composition title rules are often used when book titles appear in news and media writing.
AP capitalizes principal words and words of four letters or more.
Example:
Writing With Purpose
“With” is capitalized.
AP also has conventions for quotation marks around composition titles in news writing. Capitalization is only one part of formatting the book title.
Prepositions in Book Titles
Consider:
a journey through history
APA:
A Journey Through History
AP:
A Journey Through History
Chicago:
A Journey Through History
MLA:
A Journey through History
The style difference comes from “through,” which MLA generally treats as a lowercase preposition in the middle.
Articles in Book Titles
Articles are:
a
an
the
They are normally lowercase in the middle:
A History of the Modern World
“The” is lowercase.
If “The” begins the title:
The Modern World
it is capitalized.
Conjunctions in Book Titles
Common conjunctions such as “and,” “but,” and “or” usually stay lowercase in the middle.
Example:
War and Peace
“And” is lowercase.
The first or last position can change treatment in styles that capitalize those positions.
Hyphenated Book Titles
Compounds need style specific treatment.
Example:
Self-Report Methods in Education
APA capitalizes both major parts of “Self-Report.”
Chicago 18 has updated treatment for certain prefixed compounds.
If a book title contains an unusual technical compound, consult the current style manual rather than trusting an old capitalization list.
Proper Names Inside Book Titles
Proper names must keep their conventional capitals.
Examples:
A History of London
Writing About Shakespeare
The Rise of YouTube
A generic converter should preserve familiar brand names and acronyms where practical.
Titles Within Book Titles
A book title can contain the title of another work.
Example concept:
Reading Hamlet in the Modern Classroom
The inner title may require italics or quotation marks depending on context and style. Capitalization still follows the rules appropriate to that inner title.
This is an editorial formatting issue beyond simple case conversion.
Foreign Language Book Titles
Do not automatically apply English title case to every language.
Many languages use sentence style capitalization for book titles rather than English style major word capitalization.
MLA and Chicago both distinguish English title capitalization from titles in languages that follow different conventions.
If you are citing a foreign language title, preserve or apply the capitalization required for that language and citation style.
Book Series Titles
A series name is not always treated exactly like an individual book title.
Publishers and style guides can have specific rules for series names, volume titles, and numbered installments.
Example:
The Modern Editing Series
may function as a formal series name.
If the exact series styling matters, verify it against the publisher or governing style guide.
Numbers in Book Titles
Numbers themselves do not have case.
Examples:
10 Ways to Write Better
The 5 Principles of Editing
The words around the number still follow title case.
A title that begins with a numeral does not need a letter capitalization decision for the numeral, but the next words are styled normally.
Should Book Titles Be Italicized?
In many academic and publishing contexts, standalone book titles are italicized. But capitalization and italics are separate.
A capitalization converter can give you:
The Art of Editing
It does not automatically decide whether the title should be italicized in every destination.
Follow the citation or editorial format for typography.
A Book Title Checklist
Before finalizing a book title:
- Identify the style guide.
- Decide whether the context needs title case or sentence case.
- Capitalize the first word.
- Capitalize major words.
- Handle prepositions according to the style.
- Capitalize the subtitle opening.
- Check compounds.
- Preserve proper names.
- Apply italics or quotation marks separately.
- Check the publisher's official title spelling.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Are book titles always in title case?
No. APA reference entries generally use sentence case for book titles. Other styles and contexts can use title case.
Is “the” capitalized in a book title?
It is capitalized when it begins the title or subtitle. In the middle, it is usually lowercase unless it belongs to a proper name or another rule applies.
Is a subtitle capitalized after a colon?
The first word of a subtitle is capitalized. The rest follows the selected style.
Should I copy capitalization from the book cover?
Not necessarily. Cover typography can be decorative. Use the capitalization required by your writing or citation style.