I have a book coming out!
this week in author promotion
In July Belt is publishing a book I edited, Best of the Rust Belt. The tagline: “the best personal essays from a contested region.”
The book is a selection of a few dozen essays, mainly from Belt’s City Anthology series, that discuss life in a place that many call the Rust Belt (and others chafe at that name, preferring “Great Lakes Region” or “Midwest” or “Heartland” or “Postindustrial Midwest” or some such. It features some writers you may have heard of—
, Brian Broome, , , LaToya Ruby Frazier, , Sophie Benoit—and many equally strong but less recognized writers.Anna Clark wrote the introduction, and it’s pretty moving, tbh.
“Centering more complex, more diverse stories—which is to say, truer stories—will get us to a better place. That goes for media coverage writ large as well as our individual habits of taking in news. It is more interesting, and more fun, even, to turn our attention to those who take the fullness of our voices as a given, and, accordingly, are building an infrastructure to amplify our most compelling stories.
In this, Belt Publishing is a pioneer. On the heels of a national recession, the press set up shop not far from Lake Erie and published anthologies about Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincinnati, each one brimming with stories and images of uncommon candor. This is how I came into the Belt family: editing the Detroit anthology. I still think of making that book as an act of listening.”
It’s not a coincidence we are publishing this book in 2024: this year is both the “real” 10th year anniversary of the press and a presidential election year, which, for the past two cycles, has had me screaming at my screen as “Rust Belt” coverage spikes. It’s been getting better, but as Anna puts it in the book’s introduction:
“There seems to be an emerging awareness that interviews with stray voters in Ohio diners are an insufficient mechanism for capturing the range of lived experiences here. But still, the Rust Belt is too often framed as a problem to be solved. Swinging the spotlight over to the region for fifteen minutes every time a national election rolls around then leaving it in darkness doesn’t just shortchange the people who live here; it stifles the wisdom and ingenuity that we have to offer those who live elsewhere.”
Taking some time to hear the voices of writers who live here will be time well spent.
The Table of Contents chokes me up: some snippets
I must now admit that I am the editor of this book mainly in name: Phoebe Mogharei is the editor in action, as she has done the work of reading through dozens of our books and selecting the pieces she felt were best for this collection, and working with the chosen writers. David Wilson designed the striking cover. And the editors of the many anthologies from which this one is culled are due the credit for editing the pieces per se.
Given how much of a communal effort has been this book, the least I can do is shout to you guys about it, encourage you to order it for your bookstore or library, pre-order a copy for your friends or self, adopt it for your course, or ask your editor if you can cover. We have plenty of MI, PA and WI content for you swing state beat reporters and pundits. It would be so wonderful to have this book in the mix for summer reading as well as to inform (and improve) election coverage.
For those of you who are in the ARC/galley game: please email Phoebe at phoebe@beltpublishing.com. For any other author/editor/publisher requests, you know where to find me.
The writers whose essays are showcased in the book deserve the best possible launch for their collective effort, wisdom, and words. Thanks for helping us spread the word!
OH HEY ALSO: Join me in May to work on your nonfiction book proposal!
Congrats!!!
This looks amazing. Can't wait to read it and congrats!