As public debate continues over what is or isn’t fake news, as some ask whether knowledge and experience are instead forms of elitism [1], and as we wonder if the 2016 Oxford word of the year (“post-truth” [4]) is planning to stick around just a bit longer, we at Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank a very special group of experts: CORR’s peer reviewers. Our reviewers are essential to our mission—Disseminating Orthopaedic Knowledge—and they are fundamental to our operation. Without their continued generosity of time, care, and expertise, nothing else would be possible here.

This year at CORR ®, we saw new highs in almost every measurable parameter including usage (nearly 3 million full-text downloads, a threefold increase since 2011), Impact Factor (now at 3.897, up more than 50% over the last 5 years), and social-media visibility. I thank the authors who send their best work here, and I am proud of the tools our team has developed to help those authors present their work effectively (available for all to use at no charge at http://www.clinorthop.org/author-reviewer-tools). I believe our Senior Editors who work with CORR’s authors on clarity and balance are the best medical editors in our profession. But good scientific reporting depends on good science, and for this, we need subject-matter experts. Our peer reviewers provide this expertise.

Because reviewing is so important, and because reviewers volunteer their time, we want to make it as easy as possible for our reviewers to do it both efficiently and to a high standard. Our reviewer tool [2]—also free for anyone to use, regardless of whether (s)he is performing a review for CORR, or for another journal—makes a difficult job faster and more consistent. It also can help readers to get more out of what they read, since it is focuses the reader’s attention on the key questions that determine a study’s validity [3]; it is available at http://www.clinorthop.org/reviewertool, and is well worth a look if you have not seen it.

Since this time last year, more than 1800 individuals reviewed articles at CORR. My heartfelt thanks go to each one of them. In addition, I would like to recognize our top reviewers for 2017. These individuals performed four or more reviews in the last 12 months, and earned an average review-quality score in the “excellent” range. Fewer than 3% of our reviewers clear this high bar. We recognize their critical contributions by listing their names here (DOI: 10.1007/s11999-017-5506-3), by providing each of them with a 1-year subscription to CORR, and (if they wish) by sending a letter of recognition for this considerable accomplishment to their institutions.

From the CORR family to yours, please accept our best holiday wishes for 2017, and a happy new year.