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In APA Style, you include the full name of up to twenty authors. When there are 21 or more authors include the first 19 authors insert an ellipsis (with no ampersand) and then add the final author’s name (APA Handbook 7th ed., sections 9.8, 9.12, and 10.1, #4). See the list below for the formatting of the author element in APA style.

Formatting Authors in References

• No author: Move the title of the work to the author position, follow with a period, and the date.
• 1 author: Smith, J.
• 2 authors: Smith, J., & Jones, M.
• 3 – 20 authors: Smith, J., Jones, M., & Johnson, R.

Give last names and initials for up to and including 20 authors.

• 22 authors: Smith, J., Jones, M., Johnson, R., Miller, M., Lopez, D. R., Brown, N., Powell, J., Carter, R., Jarvis, G.W., Pierce, J. M., Carson, J., Hall, A. M. Davies, K., Fletcher, P., Ortiz, L., Lange, B., Walters, R., Walton, D., Weber, D., …Karlins, A.

Other Types of Authors

Other people sometimes have a big role in publishing a source. These are usually editors or translators for print sources, but it can also include writers, producers, and directors for media.

• 1 editor: Jones, J. (Ed.).
• 2 or more editors: Jones, J., & Smith, M. (Eds.).
• 2 or more roles: Smith, J. (Writer), Jones, M. (Director), & Johnson, R. (Producer).
• 1 person in two roles: Gould, T. (Producer & Director).

Organizations or groups are also authors, but if you use an organization name as the author of the work, you do not need to repeat that organization for the title of the work as well.

• American Heart Association
• United Nations
• U.S. Department of Labor

Examples:

Find Out More

• APA Style 7th ed. Citation Guide

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