Underbelly Press

Thursday Throwback On Monday it’s a few chopped fingers. Someone stuck their hand too close to the gears and their knuckles popped like popcorn, attracting gawking onlookers like a crowded theater. The foreman yells, stop staring and call 911! The screams of the unfortunate recipient of this popping overshadow any calls for help. “It’s always the temps,” Herman sighs, a head shake as he hangs up his polyester jacket. “Those fresh shaven faces straight out of high school. They have no idea what they’re getting themselves into.” Mr. Organ Trade Audrey-Anna Gamache Text is on a black background. There is a picture of a plaster in the bottom right corner.

Mr. Organ Trade by Audrey-Anna Gamache
It's a sharp, gritty piece that shows the brutal reality of labour, where workers are treated as expendable, giving up parts of themselves literally & metaphorically. Drained, overworked & expected to keep on giving.
underbellypress.wixsite.com/home/issue-two

Please do support these 2 incredible authors in Leeds tonight if you can!

You can read the full piece here: underbellypress.wixsite.com/home/publish...

#BookMail, Part Two: if you’re a fan of @trashcatlit.bsky.social (and really, how could you not be?!), go grab their first print antho. Proceeds go to charity, so you’ll be doing some good in the world while enjoying the stellar writing.

RESPONSES SENT Thank you for your patience! Check your emails. All Issue 5 responses have now been sent out! I was up until 2 am sending off the last of them, so please excuse any typos (there were definitely at least a couple)! If you haven’t received a reply, please check your spam folder, and feel free to reach out at underbellypress@gmail.com for any enquiries. Reading through hundreds of submissions has been a privilege. Saying no is always one of the hardest parts of this process, and I’m always so grateful to everyone who trusted us with their work. It’s been such a pleasure to see all the unique and thoughtful interpretations of the autumn theme. Thank you, for your support and your contributions. More details about Issue 5 coming soon as we move into the editing phase! Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. Image of an orange leaf in the background, behind the text.

Thank you for your patience!

All Issue 5 responses have now been sent out! If you haven’t received a reply, please check your spam folder, and feel free to reach out at underbellypress@gmail.com for any enquiries.

Presenting the cover for Suburban Witchcraft Issue 11, set to release in December!

We are still reading and looking forward to your offerings of #art #photography #poetry and #stories for Issue 11 - until November 1st.

#coverreveal #litmag #publishing #writingcommunity

These look beautiful 😍

Our pleasure!

Thursday Throwback STFU. This is a bad word my dad says to my mother, and it makes her be quiet. My larynx throttles a giggle. A clock beats out the red adrenaline pump-pump of my heart. Sound of the door upstairs closing. Nothing….Nothing. Steal Yourself for a Brighter Day Gill O’Halloran Text is on a black background. Image of a diamond ring in the bottom right corner.

This week’s Thursday Throwback features Steal Yourself for a Brighter Day by Gill O’Halloran ( @quickasaflash.bsky.social ). Told through the candid, distinct voice of a child, the gritty narrative carries a spark of defiance.

Read it now in Issue 1.

🚨COVER REVEAL🚨

We are beyond excited to share with you the cover of the incredible debut novel from @bookbound2019.bsky.social

Paper Sisters is one of the most absorbing and engrossing books from the Northodox family, and it's yours in February!

Preorder here: share.google/S6e75ozqEkLz...

Competition Ten Winning Flash Fiction: Do Everything Your Mama Said Not To – Free Flash Fiction “Don’t slouch, sit nice”   Sprawl over the hot bonnet of his American muscle. Lounge across the back seats of the Greyhound to anywhere, his hand travelling, thighs shakier than your resolve. Flop int...

FFF15072022
As chosen by Judge Charles Prelle

Competition Ten Winning Flash Fiction:

Do Everything Your Mama Said Not To
by JP Relph
linktr.ee/JPRelph

@therelphian.bsky.social

#flashfiction #writingcompetitions

freeflashfiction.com/fiction/comp...

A treasure amongst treasures - where is your copy of What Comes to Light?
Twenty-seven incredible short fictions available to buy now and raising funds for @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social

mybook.to/WhatComesToL...

Find out more and get story teases here: trashcatlit.com/what-comes-t...

#IndieLitMagGala 2025 Spotlight: Epistemic Literary - The Broken Spine This isn’t a competition. It’s a celebration.

One of the most quietly powerful presses out there, @epistemiclit.bsky.social, has been spotlighted for #IndieLitMagGala 2025.

Big thanks to Jennifer (@einetogi.bsky.social) for the heartfelt nomination—this one hit us deep.

Read the full feature here:
thebrokenspine.co.uk...

#SmallPressLove

I love journals like Thorn and Bloom who provide space for mental health and self care. My CNF “When the Walls Come Down” is included in the gorgeous Issue 3 print edition.

Happy to be included in the latest theme at Bunker Squirrel Magazine (especially after seeing the excellent ToC). Click below to read my take on “Confessions of a Serial Killer,” then stick around to read the other stories. They’re bound to be, ahem, killer!

bunkersquirrel.com

Tuesday Tasters This is where I find myself after every white pill—first over sink rim, then toeing the border of some forlorn country where it always rains. Where monsters slow for a moment before sliding past, their shadowed bodies wraithing beneath the storm. Their swamp-rot smell lingering. REM Taylor Hamann Los Text is on a black background. In the bottom right corner are two spiders facing each other.

I’m still making my way through submissions, slowly but surely. Thank you for your patience! In the meantime, here’s this week’s Tuesday Taster, REM by Taylor Hamann Los. It’s the perfect piece as we head into October, rainy, surreal, and a little bit haunted. Read it in Issue 4.

Submissions for Issue 5: AUTUMN are now closed! Thank you so much to everyone who submitted. To be transparent, as it’s primarily just me working on the issue again (and with a new job recently started), I’ll be sticking mostly to form rejections. It’s not ideal, as I do prefer a personal touch to show my appreciation, but it’s the only way to keep things moving on schedule. Please don’t take a rejection as a reflection of your work’s quality. I’ve already come across pieces I’ve genuinely loved but that didn’t quite align with this issue’s theme. These decisions are always the hardest part of running a lit mag, and they’re never made lightly. I appreciate each submission and consider it with care. I’ve really enjoyed working on Underbelly Press’s first themed issue, and it’s been a pleasure seeing how people have responded. The takes have been fantastic and unique, I’ve loved receiving different spins on the theme. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be busy reading through everything and aim to send out all responses within that time. Thank you for your patience and, as always, your support.

Submissions for Issue 5: AUTUMN are now closed!

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be busy reading through everything and aim to send out all responses within that time. Thank you for your patience and, as always, your support.

Congratulations, Mike. Check it out! ⬇️

Appreciate you, Tracie!

Thank you @underbellypress.bsky.social for being awesome.

Underbelly Press Submissions Close September 26. Underbelly Press logo in the bottom right corner Text is on a black background Image of an orange leaf behind the fives rows of 'Submissions close'

One more week to submit! Submissions close for Issue 5: AUTUMN on 26 September 🍂

For this issue, we’re weaving together Underbelly’s focus on gritty, human experience with the natural decay and quiet shift of autumn. We’re seeking work that explores that intersection.

A second daily spotlight, this one from Scott 🦝
We loved this short-sharp bruising piece with its haunting ending.
Amazing take on challenging prompts: During a Break Up, a Ghost, Dancing

Read here: trashcatlit.com/phantom-pain/

Thursday Throwback If there was a booster, he was the first in line. If there was a clinical trial for an anti-aging drug, he did not hesitate to sign the forms promising not to sue. He knew the risks. Watching his widowed mother grieve his father’s premature death set a fire in him. He vowed he would never break her heart like that. He would live forever. The Man Who Wanted to Live Forever Died Today Tracie Adams Text is on a black background. Image of some pills in the bottom right corner.

The Man Who Wanted to Live Forever Died Today by
@tracieadams.bsky.social - Issue 3

This sharp, witty piece follows Jimmy, who grows up determined to elude his father's fate at any cost. It explores the fragility of control & the question of whether we can escape what feels inevitable.

🚨TOMORROW🚨

This Thursday, The Darkest Tide by Jane Dougherty is available everywhere.

This stunning epic mythology/historical fantasy novel is not to be missed!

Discover the legend of Ys here:
share.google/jpexLBwqBrlu...

Our pleasure! 🖤

Sunday Snippets I tried to tease an augury out of something inauspicious: A cricket hooked on our drowsing cat’s paw. Needing an alibi Lee Potts Text is on a black background. There is a picture of a cricket in the bottom right corner.

This week’s Sunday Snippet is Needing an alibi by Lee Potts (
@leepottspoet.bsky.social )

A subtle yet striking piece, it captures a seemingly mundane moment and turns it into something quietly unsettling.

Read it in Issue 4.

Thursday Throwback Water would think us mad, the oceans caught in fits of laughter. Guardianship over rain, they say, and the clouds would dance in amusement if they could, with their heavy bellies, bursting until the deluge flooded each arrogant, self-appointed custodian, the fools who believe they can command even a single drop. Occupation SHIKHA SAWHNEY LAMBA Text is on a black background. Bottom right corner is a picture of three blue water drops.

This week’s Thursday Throwback brings you Occupation by Shikha Sawhney Lamba.

A sharp and thoughtful piece, it challenges human arrogance and reminds us of the futility in believing we can command what was never ours to control.

Read it now in Issue 3.

🚨RELEASE DAY🚨

The beautiful and tragic scifi masterpiece Green Laughing by the incredible @criponatrip.bsky.social is available now!

Order yours here:
share.google/NEKseFipHJX9...

Autumn Prompts Open until September 26 Shorter days, longer nights, what memories come to mind when the dark creeps in? What rotten thing lurks beneath the surface? As trees lose their leaves, what do people lose, willingly, or not? What does it mean to have autumn without abundance? The four prompts each have an orange leaf behind them. The background is black. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner.

Prompts to get you thinking:
Shorter days, longer nights, what memories come to mind when the dark creeps in?
What rotten thing lurks beneath the surface?
As trees lose their leaves, what do people lose, willingly, or not?
What does it mean to have autumn without abundance?