Citing a short story found in an anthology, compilation or book of any other kind entails citing both the story and its author, and the book and its editor. The basic format for such a citation is:
Lastname, First name. "Title of Story." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.
For instance:
Kincaid, Jamaica. "The Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories. Ed. Tobias Wolf. New York: Vintage, 1994. 306-307. Print.
When citing a short story in a book by a single author, such as the story "Empty Shoes" from Reinaldo Arenas' story collection Mona and Other Tales, MLA suggests the following format:
Arenas, Reinaldo. "The Empty Shoes." Mona and Other Tales. New York: Vintage, 2001. 3-4. Print.
All book titles should be italicized.
When citing a short story found in a magazine, follow the MLA guidelines for citing an article in a periodical. These guidelines adhere to the following pattern:
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical. Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication.
For instance, if citing the Jennifer Egan story "The Safari" as published in the New Yorker in January 2010:
Egan, Jennifer. "The Safari." The New Yorker. 11 January 2010: 51-59. Print.
All magazine titles should be italicized.
If citing a short story published independently of any other material, such that it resembles a novella, simply cite the story as you would cite a novel.
The MLA suggests the following format for citing a novel:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
For instance, if citing "El Central," a short story by Reinaldo Arenas, published as an independent volume by Avon Books:
Arenas, Reinaldo. El Central. New York: Avon Books, 1984. Print.
The name of a short story published as an independent volume should be italicized.
Online citations follow similar formats to book citations, though vary depending on the amount of information available for a given story. Always try to include as much information as possible regarding the author, story title, website and year of publication, though MLA does not suggest including the URL.
If a professor or other authority figure mandates the inclusion of a URL for reference, place the URL within pointed brackets, such as <http://www.nytimes.com >.
For example, if citing the Irvine Welsh Story "A Fault of the Line" as published on the Barcelona Review website:
Welsh, Irvine. "A Fault of the Line." Barcelona Review. 1996. Web.
Because the Barcelona Review does not provide information on the exact date the story was published, this information cannot be included in the citation. However, were it available, the date would read Day Month Year.
Always italicize the name of the website.
The MLA suggests two formats when citing a source in the text. If simply quoting something without previously referencing the name of the author and the story, place the last name of the author and the page number of the quotation in parentheses following the quotation.
For instance, if quoting from Reinaldo Arenas' "El Central."
The plight of those fingered as counter-revolutionaries by Fidel Castro and his regime was dire enough that one writer declared, "I know all these words are merely useless artifices to delay the inevitable decapitation" (Arenas 43).
If information on the author precedes the quotation, MLA suggest simply placing the page number of the quotation in parentheses.
For instance:
Writes Reinaldo Arenas of being an author and designated enemy of the Cuban state in his autobiographical short story "El Central," "I know all these words are merely useless artifices to delay the inevitable decapitation" (43).