There's no easy way to say it: The Seattle Review of Books is going on indefinite hiatus. We'll be publishing a few more columns, reviews, and will have two weeks of daily poems about the novel coronavirus, but that will be it for for the foreseeable future.

This was a painful decision. We believe in Seattle's literary community just as much now as we did on the day we launched the site, if not more. But after five years of daily publication, we find ourselves taxed on a number of levels: the digital infrastructure requires intense and comprehensive work; our staff requires more resources to grow the site and keep it from turning fallow at a moment when resources are less available than ever; and, quite frankly, some of us are exhausted.

The greatest joy of working on the Seattle Review of Books has been reading and publishing all this new work by so many talented writers. We have paid for and published the work of dozens of local poets and reviews by dozens of local authors. We've worked hard to be a home worthy of our amazing stable of genre columnists: thanks to Daneet Steffens, Olivia Waite, and Nisi Shawl for their boundless enthusiasm. We've loved being a regular home for Seattle artists Clare Johnson and Aaron Bagley, who never failed to delight us with their latest work.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to our editorial staff: Mariya Bashkatova, Julie Yue, and — especially — Dawn McCarra Bass, who helped expand the site from a two-hander into an ensemble piece. And Portrait Gallery artist Christine Marie Larsen and Help Desk columnist Cienna Madrid, have been here from the very beginning; there would never have been a site to begin with without their brilliant work.

For all the people and organizations who sponsored this site through the years: thank you. Know that you have helped support some of the most talented writers and artists in the city. It's an honor to be a part of this community. We've made friendships and read books and celebrated people who have changed our lives for the better. We hope that the Seattle Review of Books has enriched your lives even a fraction as much as you've enriched ours.

The site will stay up as a comprehensive survey of five tumultuous years in Seattle's literary history, and hopefully we'll be able to repair some of the back end issues that have interfered with search and archival functions.

We refuse to say goodbye; instead, we'll see you in the bookstores and readings and libraries that make Seattle such a wonderful place to live. Don't count us out completely — we'll be back in some form at some point. If you have thoughts about what that should look like, you can always reach out to us and let us hear your thoughts on the matter.

Thank you, to all you book lovers in Seattle, and from around the world, who became part of our community. It was an honor and pleasure to be part of yours.