anon.

Writing & Everyday abbreviation · Citation and Bibliography

anon.
Stands forAnonymous
CategoriesWriting & Everyday

anon. stands for Anonymous, a citation and bibliography abbreviation.

Indicates that a work's author is unknown or unnamed, in citations, anthologies and catalogs. Many style guides now prefer to begin such entries with the title instead.

Example: Beowulf, the Old English epic, is credited as anon. in most anthologies of early literature.

Usage notes

Chicago and MLA advise starting an entry with the title rather than "Anonymous" unless the work is signed "Anonymous" on its title page. Works published anonymously and later attributed, such as the 1996 novel Primary Colors, later acknowledged by Joe Klein, are often cited under the known author with a bracketed note. Pen names are handled with pseud.

More citation and bibliography abbreviations

  • abr. – Abridged
  • AMA – AMA Manual of Style
  • AP – Associated Press Stylebook
  • APA – American Psychological Association (style)
  • app. – Appendix
  • ARC – Advance reader copy
  • bibliog. – Bibliography
  • bk. – Book
  • ch. – Chapter
  • CMOS – Chicago Manual of Style
  • col. – Column
  • comp. – Compiler

See all 58 citation and bibliography abbreviations →

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