It was in February 2011 that a scrappy group of authors in the DC region — many of whom had met through the now-disbanded Washington Independent Writers — joined together to form the Washington Independent Review of Books. Witnessing an alarming drop in the number of quality book reviews offered in print media, they were determined to do their part to fill the void. From the beginning, one of the Independent’s staunchest advocates has been New York Times bestselling biographer Kitty Kelley.

Fast-forward to the present, when even the stalwart Associated Press has stopped reviewing books. But the Independent — the little publication that could — has weathered some seriously stormy times and now celebrates its 15th anniversary. Credit goes to many dedicated people who’ve worked through the years to help it thrive, but nobody has done more than Kitty, who has again donated $100,000 to ensure our operation continues to flourish.

“You just need to give to what you love,” she once told me, and we’re thrilled and honored that she’s loved the Independent these 15 years and believes in our mission to share a love of reading freely and widely, to support full access to books of all kinds, and to introduce readers to authors and books they might not otherwise meet.

We invite you to join us in our year-long anniversary celebration and to join Kitty in her support for this little hotbed of creativity, open-mindedness, empathy, and an expansive worldview — all of which books and reading can bestow.

Jennifer Bort Yacovissi’s novel, Up the Hill to Home, tells the story of four generations of a family in Washington, DC, from the Civil War to the Great Depression. She reviews regularly for the Independent and serves on its board of directors as president. Follow Jenny on Bluesky at @jbywrites.bsky.social.