About
We founded Belt in 2013 to promote voices from the Rust Belt, and we have expanded our focus to include smart narrative and serious nonfiction on any topic, as well as commercial fiction with a regional foothold. In 2023 we were acquired by Arcadia Publishing, where we remain an independent imprint.
We are excited to tell overlooked stories, particularly those written by writers from underrepresented backgrounds and flown-over places. We especially love books of cultural criticism, books with an urbanism theme or about progressive politics, smart histories that are not nostalgic, and those that "are hard to know where to shelve." We are drawn to scholarly research made plain. We publish everything from memoir to criticism, fiction, maps, and cookbooks.
We privilege strong writing above all. Our authors make us who we are.
Our titles have been longlisted for the PEN/Galbraith award for nonfiction, named “Best of the Year” by NPR and Publishers Weekly, and reviewed by the New York Times Book Review, the Times Literary Supplement, Harper’s, the New Yorker, the New Republic, and dozens of other outlets.
We value horizontal loyalty, writers over markets, the long game over the quick hit. We prioritize maintaining a sustainable business, including setting realistic workplace expectations.
Our authors receive traditional publishing contracts and industry-standard royalties. Nordlyset handles our subrights.
We welcome both agented and unagented submissions.
Our Team
Anne Trubek is the founder and publisher of Belt Publishing. She is the author of So You Want To Publish A Book? (Belt 2020), and editor of Best of the Rust Belt (Belt 2024), and Voices From The Rust Belt (Picador, 2018). She is also author of The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting (Bloomsbury, 2016), and A Skeptic's Guide To Writers' Houses (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010). She has been publishing her Notes from A Small Press newsletter since 2018.
anne@beltpublishing.com
Michael Jauchen is the senior editor at Belt Publishing and has worked with Belt since 2016. Before moving into editing full time, he was an associate professor of English and creative writing at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Rumpus, and many other publications.
michael@beltpublishing.com
David Wilson is Creative Director at Belt Publishing where he was a recipient of AIGA’s “50 Books 50 Covers” award for his Belt Revivals book covers. An illustrator, writer, designer, and filmmaker with an MFA from Kent State University in Visual Communication Design, David entered the freelance world over ten years ago, working on illustration, design, and video projects for clients such as The Atlantic, The WWE, Boom! Comics, The Boston Globe, Harvard, Forbes and many more. He iHe is the co-author/illustrator of Rust Belt Arcana, author of The Everyday, and the writer/director of The Disposal of Dead Ned (Best Comedy Film at Poor Life Choices Film Fest). His latest work, Play Like A Girl, a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, written by Misty Wilson, was a 2023 Buckeye Book Award winner and a MASL (Maryland Association of School Librarians) nominee. Currently, he is working on three unannounced graphic novels and a few things on the hush hush...
Phoebe Mogharei is an editor and publicist at Belt. Her writing has appeared in Chicago magazine, the Chicago Reader, Electric Literature, and the Chicago Review of Books. She joined Belt in 2022 and lives in Brooklyn.
phoebe@beltpublishing.com
Sales
**April 12 2024: We are in the process of switching our distributor**
In December, 2023, Belt was acquired by Arcadia Publishing. During the month of April 2024, we will shift from Publishers Group West (PGW)/Ingram to Arcadia Publishing. We will officially be distributed by Arcadia starting May 1.
Questions about placing wholesale orders during this transition? Please email anne@beltpublishing.com.
Want to create a new account with Arcadia? Please email akaneko@arcadiapublishing.com
You may access our forthcoming titles on Edelweiss.
Media inquiries: please contact phoebe@beltpublishing.com
Academics: For desk or exam copies, please email phoebe@beltpublishing.com
Rights are handled by Nordlyset Agency. Please contact Jennifer@nordlisetagency.com
Query Us
Booksellers, Librarians, & Media
Interested in hearing about our forthcoming releases and publicity updates, with links to Digital Review Copies? Email phoebe@beltpublishing.com to get added to our industry newsletter.