Knowing whether to italicize short story titles is a fundamental skill for students, writers, and editors navigating the rules of standard English formatting. The short answer is no, you generally do not italicize short story titles. This distinction exists because short stories are considered "shorter works" or "parts of a whole," whereas italics are reserved for "longer works" or "standalone wholes" like novels, anthologies, or newspapers. Instead, standard convention dictates that you place them in quotation marks. Mastering this rule ensures your writing looks professional and adheres to major style guides like MLA, APA, and Chicago Still holds up..
The Core Rule: Quotation Marks vs. Italics
The overarching principle governing title formatting is the distinction between major works and minor works. Think of it as the difference between the container and the thing inside the container.
- Italics are used for major, standalone, or container works. Examples include novels (To Kill a Mockingbird), books (The Great Gatsby), anthologies (The Best American Short Stories 2023), newspapers (The New York Times), journals (Nature), movies (Inception), TV series (Breaking Bad), and full-length plays (Hamlet).
- Quotation Marks are used for minor, shorter, or component works that exist inside a larger container. Examples include short stories ("The Lottery"), poems ("The Road Not Taken"), book chapters ("The Boy Who Lived"), articles ("How to Write a Cover Letter"), individual TV episodes ("The One Where Everybody Finds Out"), and songs ("Bohemian Rhapsody").
Because a short story is almost always published within a larger vessel—such as a literary magazine, an anthology, or a collection—it falls squarely into the "quotation marks" category That's the whole idea..
Correct: I read "The Tell-Tale Heart" in my literature class. Incorrect: I read The Tell-Tale Heart in my literature class That's the part that actually makes a difference..
How Major Style Guides Handle Short Story Titles
While the general rule remains consistent, it is helpful to verify the specific requirements of the citation style you are using. The three dominant academic and professional styles all agree on this point.
MLA Style (Modern Language Association)
MLA Handbook (9th edition) is explicit: Use quotation marks for titles of short stories. This applies to both in-text citations and the Works Cited page And that's really what it comes down to..
- In-text: In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O’Connor explores themes of grace and hypocrisy.
- Works Cited: O’Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." The Complete Stories, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971, pp. 117–133.
- Note: The title of the collection (The Complete Stories) is italicized, while the individual story title is in quotes.
APA Style (American Psychological Association)
APA Publication Manual (7th edition) follows the same logic for reference lists and in-text mentions. Short story titles appear in quotation marks (and sentence case in reference lists, title case in text).
- In-text: In "The Yellow Wallpaper" (Gilman, 1892), the narrator’s descent into madness is depicted through journal entries.
- Reference List: Gilman, C. P. (1892). The yellow wallpaper. The New England Magazine, 5(5), 647–656.
Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
Chicago style (17th edition) also mandates quotation marks for short stories, whether using the Notes-Bibliography system or Author-Date system.
- Footnote: 1. Ernest Hemingway, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," in The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories (New York: Scribner, 1961), 1.
- Bibliography: Hemingway, Ernest. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." In The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories, 1–56. New York: Scribner, 1961.
Summary Table:
| Style Guide | Short Story Title Format | Container (Anthology/Book) Format |
|---|---|---|
| MLA | "Title" (Title Case) | Title (Italics) |
| APA | "Title" (Title Case in text / Sentence case in refs) | Title (Italics) |
| Chicago | "Title" (Title Case) | Title (Italics) |
Common Exceptions and Edge Cases
While the rule is dependable, specific scenarios can cause confusion. Here is how to handle the most frequent edge cases.
1. Standalone Publication of a Short Story
Occasionally, a famous short story is published as a standalone physical book (often a chapbook or a special edition). Here's one way to look at it: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novella often bound alone, and "The Old Man and the Sea" was published as a standalone book before being incorporated into collections Most people skip this — try not to..
- Rule: If the work is published physically as a standalone book with its own ISBN and binding, treat it as a book: Italicize it.
- Context: If you are discussing the story as it appears inside an anthology, revert to quotation marks. The physical format of the specific edition you are citing dictates the formatting.
2. Novellas and Novelettes
The line between a "long short story" (novelette) and a "short novel" (novella) is blurry. Generally:
- Novelettes (approx. 7,500–17,500 words): Treat as short stories → Quotation marks.
- Novellas (approx. 17,500–40,000 words): Often treated as standalone books → Italics.
- Examples: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (often published alone, italicized; in anthology, quotes). Animal Farm (novella, always italicized).
When in doubt, check how the publisher categorizes the specific edition you are holding.
3. Untitled Short Stories
Some experimental or older works lack a formal title and are known by their first line or a generic descriptor.
- Rule: Do not italicize or use quotation marks for generic descriptors. Capitalize as a proper noun if it functions as the accepted title.
- Example: Emily Dickinson’s poems are often known by first lines: I heard a Fly buzz—when I died— (No quotes, no italics, capitalized as a title).
- Example: "Sonnet 18" or "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (Quotation marks used for the first line acting as title).
4. Titles Within Titles
This occurs when a short story title appears inside the title of a book, article, or essay you are writing.
- Scenario: You are writing an essay titled Symbolism in "The Lottery."
- Formatting: The essay title (major work) would be italicized if standalone, or in quotes if part of a journal. The short story title inside it retains its quotation marks.
- Book Example: Critical Essays on "The Lottery" and Other Stories.
- Article Example: "The Uncanny in 'The Turn of the Screw'" (Article title in quotes, story title in single quotes inside—*British convention often
