Belt Publishing

A classic feminist novel originally published in 1915, and set in Iowa in the early years of the 20th century, Susan Glaspell's Fidelity is a surprising, suspenseful work about the strictures that confine women, the risks those who want to flee them take, and the opportunities that await them if they do. 

Ruth Holland, bored in her conventional small town, falls in love with a married man and runs off with him, shocking the community. A decade later she returns to cold shoulders and the disapproval of the town: she is seen as "a human being who selfishly—basely—took her own happiness, leaving misery for others. She outraged society as completely as a woman could outrage it ... One who defies it ... must be shut out from it." 

What Ruth decides to do next will upend most readers' expectations, as will the cryptic scenes that take place in the doctor's office after Ruth becomes involved with her married lover. Ruth Holland deserves to be placed alongside other heroines such as Emma Bovary and Lily Bart, women who wanted "an enlarged experience" and were "zestful for new things from life." Fidelity will shock and fascinate readers today as its heroine did in her day.

A part of Belt's City Anthology Series. These pieces . . . stand as proof of the determination and optimism of a city that just won't quit.

A collection of essays and personal narratives, Happy Anyway: A Flint Anthology captures a confounding, contradictory city, proving that Flint is far more than just an industrial town picking itself up after a big company has moved out or the site of a devastating public health crisis. The stories collected here delve into the actual lives taking place within the city―the crime, joblessness, homelessness, and hopelessness, but also the happiness and resilience. They are about who is able to truly lay claim to being from Flint and what it means to finally leave―or to stay, even when bikes, jewelry, or love continually disappear. From both established and new writers, you'll find stories here that include:

- Home ownership in Mott Park during the 2008 housing crisis

- The history and mysteries of Glenwood Cemetery

- What the Flint water crisis means for parents trying to raise young children.

Edited by Scott Atkinson, a former reporter for The Flint Journal, the 24 essays collected here shed new light on a city that has perpetually been defined by outsiders. As Atkinson notes, These are stories from the middle. They are stories of triumph not because anything has been won, but because they are stories of Flint's continued fight.

A candid, unflinching look inside a city whose history tells a truly American story.

"A mesmerizing combination of voices ... Readers will be hooked." — Publishers Weekly

During the Great Depression, out-of-work writers—including Ralph Ellison and other now famous authors— were hired to interview over 10,000 workers about their jobs and lives. The arrangement, funded by the New Deal’s Federal Writers Project (a subset of the Works Progress Administration), gave us one of the most comprehensive looks ever into working conditions of the American people, especially blue-collar workers. From meatpackers in Chicago to fishermen in Massachusetts, farmers in Nebraska, and construction workers building the New York City subway, these workers met with writers at kitchen tables, in break rooms, and in union halls. The results—most of which have never been published—were candid, compelling life histories. 

At a time when much is being said about bringing jobs back to the United States, American Made offers a curated selection of these accounts from back in the “good old days,” many of them from immigrants with stories of perilous journeys to the country to match their stories of work. Their words put into relief how America has—and has not—changed since. With a preface by Kim Kelly, author of Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor. 

“A panoramic portrait of a changing nation.” — Kirkus Reviews 

A part of Belt's City Anthology Series, A deft, well-considered collection of essays, illustrations and photographs that represents...'the visions of those who have fallen madly in love with the city of Cincinnati, either for the first time or all over again.'--Cincinnati CityBeat

The Cincinnati Anthology brings together some of the Queen City's most notable residents, native sons and daughters, and creatives to tell tales of a city's triumphs and tribulations.

Edited by Zan McQuade, this collection reflects Cincinnati's true complexity: its present and its past, its transitions and its legacies; what defines it and distinguishes it; what makes us love it and what makes some eventually leave it. It is an anthology on genealogy and geology, race and progress, and experiences from the suburbs to Over-the-Rhine. Included are contributions from Curtis Sittenfeld, John Curley, Cedric Michael Cox, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Jack Heffron, Polk Laffoon IV, Katie Laur, Sam LeCure, Over the Rhine, Michael Wilson, and many more. Here you'll find:

- Portraits of Price Hill Residents

- The dog parks of Over-the-Rhine

- 5 Things a Relief Pitcher for the Reds loves about the city

- A legacy of segregation that still resonates today

- The Freestore Foodbank

- An ode to Pete Rose.

An insider's guide to the story of Cincinnati and the myriad lives that are lived there.