How to Cite an Interview in Chicago Style | Format & Examples
The format for citing an interview in Chicago notes and bibliography style depends on whether the interview is published or unpublished. An unpublished interview is one you conducted yourself or found in an archive; all other interviews are considered published.
- Unpublished interviews are cited only in notes and don’t appear in the bibliography.
- A published interview is cited in the format of the source type (e.g., newspaper, video), but with the interviewee listed as author.
Make sure to pay attention to the punctuation (e.g., commas, periods) in notes and citations for both unpublished and published interviews.
Citing an unpublished interview
Unpublished interviews include interviews you conducted yourself for the purposes of your research, and any you accessed through archives rather than formal publications. Both are cited only in notes.
Interview you conducted
Footnote references to interviews you conducted should name the person interviewed, clarify that you were the interviewer, and list the place (if the interview took place in person) and date.
1. John Smith, interview by author, Amsterdam, September 19, 2019.
If you’ve agreed to keep the person interviewed anonymous for any reason, use an appropriate description of them instead of their name.
2. Interview with a high school teacher, Chicago, March 15, 2021.
Any subsequent footnotes for the same interview should be shortened.
3. Smith, interview.
4. Interview with a high school teacher.
Interview from an archive
If the interview is available from an archive (in the form of a transcript or recording), add the name of the interviewer and details of where the interview can be accessed.
4. John Smith, interview by Shona McCombes, July 15, 2020, interview 42A, transcript, Scribbr Archives, Amsterdam.
5. Smith, interview.
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Citing a published interview
Citations of interviews that have been published in any type of source follow the format for the type of source in which they were published. The only difference from the usual formats is that the note and bibliography entry both begin with the name of the person being interviewed.
Include the the interviewer’s name after the title. If the name of the person interviewed is mentioned in the title, the name can be omitted from the start of a note (as seen in the examples below), but it should always appear in the bibliography entry.
Click through the tabs below to see how to cite interviews from journals, videos, and magazines.
Published interview citation examples
| Chicago bibliography | Interviewee last name, First name. “Article Title.” Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI or URL.
Coetzee, J. M. “An Interview with J. M. Coetzee.” Interview by Richard Begam. Contemporary Literature 33, no. 3 (Autumn 1992): 419–431. https://doi.org/10.2307/1208476. |
|---|---|
| Full note | Interviewee first name Last name, “Article Title,” interview by Interviewer first name Last name, Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page number(s). DOI or URL.
1. “An Interview with J. M. Coetzee,” interview by Richard Begam, Contemporary Literature 33, no. 3 (Autumn 1992): 425. https://doi.org/10.2307/1208476. |
| Short note | Interviewee last name, “Shortened Title,” Page number(s).
2. “Interview with J. M. Coetzee,” 427. |
| Chicago bibliography | Interviewee last name, First name. “Video Title.” Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Month Day, Year. Video, Video length. URL.
Smith, Zadie. “Zadie Smith Interview: On Shame, Rage and Writing.” Interview by Synne Rifbjerg. April 17, 2018. Video, 17:24. https://youtu.be/4LREBOwjrrw. |
|---|---|
| Full note | Interviewee first name Last name, “Video Title,” interview by Interviewer first name Last name, Month Day, Year, video, Video length or Timestamp(s), URL.
1. “Zadie Smith Interview: On Shame, Rage and Writing,” interview by Synne Rifbjerg, April 17, 2018, video, 17:24, https://youtu.be/4LREBOwjrrw. |
| Short note | Interviewee last name, “Shortened Video Title,” Timestamp(s).
2. “Zadie Smith Interview,” 6:20. |
| Chicago bibliography | Interviewee last name, First name. “Article Title.” Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Magazine Name, Month Day, Year. URL.
Hopkins, Anthony. “Anthony Hopkins Remembers It All.” Interview by Michael Schulman. New Yorker, February 27, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/anthony-hopkins-remembers-it-all. |
|---|---|
| Full note | Interviewee first name Last name, “Article Title,” interview by Interviewer first name Last name, Magazine Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
1. “Anthony Hopkins Remembers It All,” interview by Michael Schulman, New Yorker, February 27, 2021, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/anthony-hopkins-remembers-it-all. |
| Short note | Interviewee last name, “Shortened Article Title,” Page number(s).
2. “Anthony Hopkins Remembers.” |
Citing interviews in author-date style
In author-date style, unpublished interviews do appear in your reference list, with the exception of interviews where the person interviewed cannot be named (usually for reasons of confidentiality). In this case, the interview should just be described in the text or in parentheses.
(interview with a high school teacher, Chicago, March 15, 2021)
Explore the tabs below to see how to cite other kinds of published and unpublished interviews in author-date style.
Author-date interview citation examples
| Chicago author-date format | Interviewee last name, First name. Year. Interview by author. Location. Month Day, Year. |
|---|---|
| Chicago reference entry | Smith, John. 2019. Interview by author. Amsterdam. September 19, 2019. |
| Chicago author-date citation | (Smith 2019) |
| Chicago author-date format | Interviewee last name, First name. Year. Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Month Day, Year. Interview Label, Format, Archive Name, Location. |
|---|---|
| Chicago reference entry | Smith, John. 2020. Interview by Shona McCombes. July 15, 2020. Interview 42A, transcript, Scribbr Archives, Amsterdam. |
| Chicago author-date citation | (Smith 2020) |
| Chicago author-date format | Interviewee last name, First name. Year. “Article Title.” Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Month or Season): Page range. DOI or URL. |
|---|---|
| Chicago reference entry | Coetzee, J. M. 1992. “An Interview with J. M. Coetzee.” Interview by Richard Begam. Contemporary Literature 33, no. 3 (Autumn): 419–431. https://doi.org/10.2307/1208476. |
| Chicago author-date citation | (Coetzee 1992, 425) |
| Chicago author-date format | Interviewee last name, First name. Year. “Video Title.” Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Month Day, Year. Video, Video length. URL. |
|---|---|
| Chicago reference entry | Smith, Zadie. 2018. “Zadie Smith Interview: On Shame, Rage and Writing.” Interview by Synne Rifbjerg. April 17, 2018. Video, 17:24. https://youtu.be/4LREBOwjrrw. |
| Chicago author-date citation | (Smith 2018, 14:11) |
| Chicago author-date format | Interviewee last name, First name. Year. “Article Title.” Interview by Interviewer first name Last name. Magazine Name, Month Day, Year. URL. |
|---|---|
| Chicago reference entry | Hopkins, Anthony. 2021. “Anthony Hopkins Remembers It All.” Interview by Michael Schulman. New Yorker, February 27, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/anthony-hopkins-remembers-it-all. |
| Chicago author-date citation | (Hopkins 2021) |
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Caulfield, J. (2022, December 05). How to Cite an Interview in Chicago Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved January 8, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/chicago-style/interviews/
