Q. I am editing a paper in which the bibliography has a few entries with many coauthors—e.g., over fifty. The author has listed all the names. Surely, when the list of authors goes beyond twenty-five lines—in one case, over a page—I can use et al.? If that’s the case, how many do I list before using et al.? Thanks!
A. Please see CMOS 13.78: “For works with more than six authors—more common in the natural sciences—Chicago recommends listing only the first three in the bibliography, followed by et al.”