During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration conducted thousands of interviews among American workers. Anne Trubek's “American Made” gives them new voice.

By Natalia Mętrak-Ruda January 19, 2027 Pre-orders now open! The Long, Delicious Journey of Pączki From Warsaw To Polish-American Bakeries  Fried dough, traditionally filled with rose hip jelly, and c...

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Belt Publishing’s reissue of the 1903 novel prompts a discussion with Whet Moser, who calls the book the perfect companion to William Cronon’s “Nature’s Metropolis.”

By Jake Steinberg publishing November 17, 2026; preorders open! The newest entry in our 50 Maps series.  Explore Minneapolis and St. Paul in a brand new way through a full-color book of maps. New, col...

Belt Publishing’s reissue of the 1903 novel prompts a discussion with Whet Moser, who calls the book the perfect companion to William Cronon’s “Nature’s Metropolis.”

By Glenway WescottWith an introduction by Patrick Nathan October 20, 2026 A collection of stories, originally published in 1928, from the author of The Grandmothers and The Pilgrim Hawk.  A couple set...

By Daniel Block & Andrea Craft April 6, 2027 This is a pre-order. Copies will ship in April 2027. Creative, colorful, original new maps of Chicago from local cartographers. For Chicagoans new and ...

Belt talks to Andrew Wittkop, author of Literary Voyagers   This topic seems a bit separate from your other academic work. What got you interested in these two authors in the first place, and at what ...

Photographer Mati Maldre’s new book gives the Southwest Side neighborhoods their architectural due.

The 250th anniversary year of the United States Declaration of Independence puts one in a frame of mind to reflect on what we consider American values. For some, those values include hard work, innova...

Financial ambition, a tortured marriage, and an American city on the rise are brilliantly depicted in Frank Norris' 1903 masterpiece. Curtis Jadwin is obsessed with speculating on the market, manipula...

Educator and researcher Wittkop resurfaces in this evocative debut history a long-forgotten meeting between two notable literary...

American Made: Stories of Work From the WPA, edited by Anne Trubek, offers a peek into work experiences during the Depression.

The Battle of Lincoln Park: Urban Renewal and Gentrification in ChicagoBy Daniel Kay HertzWith a foreword by devin michelle buntenAugust 25, 2026 Now with photos! “A brief, cogent analysis of gentrifi...

By Andrew WittkopOctober 13, 2026 A complicated friendship blooms during a fated meeting between two nineteenth-century women writers.  In the mid-1830s, the author Anna Brownell Jameson was called fr...

By Glenway WescottWith an introduction by Patrick Nathan October 20, 2026 A collection of stories, originally published in 1928, from the author of The Grandmothers and The Pilgrim Hawk.  A couple set...

A cookbook and guide to enjoying “America’s best secret fruit”—a rare Midwestern delicacy with a “sunny, electric, and downright tropical” flavor (Serious Eats).   They are found in the fleeting, hone...

The Architecture of Chicago’s Beverly Hills/Morgan Park is the first complete large-format visual record published of these Southwest Side twin communities in Chicago. The historic and significant arc...

Plus: Read a Q&A with Belt Publishing founder Anne Trubek

Bookie's has been selling books on the South Side since 1989, it is a treasure trove of books from out-of-print titles to the newest bestsellers.

What a year 2026 is turning out to be for books! Last week we ran our Favorite Books of 2026 (So Far) list, and now that we’ve looked back at all the great books the year has already brought us, it’s ...

"A mesmerizing combination of voices ... Readers will be hooked." — Publishers WeeklyDuring the Great Depression, out-of-work writers—including Ralph Ellison and other now famous authors— were hired t...

Celebrate a community of book lovers at the two-day Columbus Book Festival at Columbus Metropolitan Library's historic Main Library.

It’s a heat wave here in Chicago leading into the Fourth of July! Whether you’re looking for some great outdoor reading or want to beat the heat with a good book, the new releases in July are sure to ...

Edited by Jeff Leven December 8, 2026Pre-orders now open! A collection of original essays by artists, label owners, and booking agents—from DEVO to The Smashing Pumpkins to Michigander—on how Midweste...

July 14, 2026 Foreword by Kim KellyEdited by Anne Trubek  "A mesmerizing combination of voices ... Readers will be hooked." — Publishers Weekly During the Great Depression, out-of-work writers—includi...

Earlier this spring, Belt Publishing — an imprint that focuses on books about Rust Belt cities — put Susan Glaspell’s 1915 novel Fidelity back into print with a new introduction by Sarah Blackwood, pr...