diff --git a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/utilities_internal.js b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/utilities_internal.js
index ba7bfe1004..5e7fb25242 100644
--- a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/utilities_internal.js
+++ b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/utilities_internal.js
@@ -995,6 +995,10 @@ Zotero.Utilities.Internal = {
 			let [_, originalField, value] = parts;
 			let key = this._normalizeExtraKey(originalField);
 			value = value.trim();
+			// Skip empty values
+			if (value === "") {
+				return [null, null];
+			}
 			return [key, value];
 		};
 		
diff --git a/test/tests/utilities_internalTest.js b/test/tests/utilities_internalTest.js
index 0431dd1b6b..6bdf4798d3 100644
--- a/test/tests/utilities_internalTest.js
+++ b/test/tests/utilities_internalTest.js
@@ -266,6 +266,13 @@ describe("Zotero.Utilities.Internal", function () {
 			assert.strictEqual(extra, '');
 		});
 		
+		it("should ignore empty creator in citeproc-js cheater syntax", function () {
+			var str = '{:author: }\n';
+			var { fields, extra } = Zotero.Utilities.Internal.extractExtraFields(str);
+			assert.equal(fields.size, 0);
+			assert.strictEqual(extra, str);
+		});
+		
 		it("should ignore both Event Place and Publisher Place (temporary)", function () {
 			var str = "Event Place: Foo\nPublisher Place: Bar";
 			var { fields, extra } = Zotero.Utilities.Internal.extractExtraFields(str);