Underbelly Press

Submission Update Issue 6: 19 December to 30 January I’ve been excited to share this, and have spent some time thinking through the best way to move forward with our next issue. I’ve also recently started a new job as an assistant editor, so I’m working on finding the right balance as I manage both roles. Thank you in advance for your patience! The submission period for Underbelly Press Issue 6 will run from December 19 to January 30. The editing period will follow throughout February, and Issue 6 is tentatively expected to release in mid to late March. After the success of the first themed issue, I’m still deciding whether this issue will be themed again. I’d love to hear your thoughts! As always, things may shift slightly, but this is the timeline I’m aiming for. I’ll keep you updated as everything progresses. Thank you so much for your continued support. More information will be shared soon. Text is on a black background. In the top right corner is the Underbelly Press logo.

Submission Update!

The submission period for Underbelly Press Issue 6 will run from December 19 to January 30. The editing period will follow throughout February, and Issue 6 is tentatively expected to release in mid to late March.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Hello from the first frost of November Welcome to our latest newsletter. We have submission stuffs, a wealth of Trash Family pubs to read, and a bunch of feline story prompts.

Our November newsletter is PACKED with stuffs to read from our Trash Family
trashcatlit.com/2025/11/30/h...
There's also a few cat story prompts if you're thinking of subbing to our December call.

@thejokelark.bsky.social @thorntonforreal.bsky.social @nbrogdonwrites.bsky.social and more...

Sunday Snippets I am the moon rising ever earlier I am your loss of daylight I am the reason my sleep is fucked And I have to be up in 4 hours. Seasonal Awareness Disorder Ethan Clark Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. In the background behind the poem is an image of an orange leaf.

Seasonal Awareness Disorder by Ethan Clark
It's a sharp, timely piece that expresses seasonal decay through vivid, grounded imagery. It’s one that really resonates right now… especially with so many of us battling the coughs, snot & sneezes of the season!

Read it in Issue 5.

This week's Thursday Throwback is a gritty, atmospheric shot captured by Laurie Avadis titled 'The Oldest Simplicity', featured in Issue 4.

Discover more of Laurie's stunning artwork here:
www.laurieavadisart.com

A huge thank you to all those who have already grabbed things in our sale.

We'll be losing some incredible authors in January so please do support them if you can!

Everything is 25% off with the code NORTHODOXMAS until 5th January
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Book Shop | Northodox Press | Crime Fiction | Publisher | Northern | Submissions Browse the full catalogue of Northodox titles.

Ted is also co-founder of Northodox Press. They are preparing for a major shift in Jan 2026 & really deserve your support. They’re currently running a 25% sale with the code NORTHODOXMAS until 5th Jan, please consider checking them out!

www.northodox.co.uk/bookstore

Tuesday Tasters I tried to put my thoughts in order and shake away the shock. Mum had just been turning a corner and was finally able to get dressed and use the stairs on her own, but it wasn’t as if she had all her faculties back. My legs were wobbling, but miraculously I didn’t seem to have any real injuries. Ground zero must have been far away, but the devastation wreaked on the area, and my skeletal friend showed how powerful it was. Burned Flowers Fallen T. E O’Connor Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. In the background behind the poem is an image of an orange leaf.

Burned Flowers Fallen by @tednorthodox.bsky.social
Told through the eyes of a survivor desperately trying to reach his mother, it's an emotional piece with a punch. The horror feels very much human, balancing grit and tenderness beautifully. Read it now in Issue 5.

🚨STATEMENT🚨

We know there have been rumours circulating and we've been investigating all avenues to continue in extremely difficult circumstances, both industry-wise and within the team.

The support from our readers and writers means the world to us.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS The wood panels have a ‘complicated relationship with themselves’ by osmosis; splashes of alcohol, late Saturday tears, midweek wakes agreed with the ownership. Crescent Bar Ewen Glass Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. In the background behind the poem is an image of an orange leaf.

Crescent Bar by @ewenglass.bsky.social
A compelling piece with evocative imagery, we were especially struck by its opening & the personification of the wood panels.

Check out Ewen's latest publication, released 14 November: amzn.eu/d/iZcEtYw
'Playful, heartbreaking and formally adventurous'

Thursday Throwback A giant comes out and doesn’t shoo me away. Blinking my eyelids while cawing, I flap my wings without any lift. My burnt black wings confine me to the land. A few days ago, when I delved into the foul-smelling heap of leftover food and detritus of everyday life, a terrible irritation seized me, as if I was set ablaze. Consequently, my feathers fell like the season’s leaves, and the existing ones resembled the spikes of bottlebrush flowers. Clipped Wings Sreelekha Chatterjee Text is on a black background. In the bottom right corner is a yellow outline image of a feather.

Clipped Wings by Sreelekha Chatterjee
This unique, sorrowful piece offers a vivid portrayal of despair and decay through the eyes of a bird.

A stark and striking read from our very first issue, find it here:
underbellypress.wixsite.com/home/publish...

Thank you! I'll check it out 😍

You're welcome! 🖤🐺

Determined to include a Hallowe'en piece in every WIP, I wrote "Hallowe’en Masquerade in New Orleans" for my horror WIP "Return of the Werewolf: Poems."
🩸 🐺 🪄 💀 Moral: beware of enchanted costume shops!

@hwany.org @swsworlds.bsky.social @sfpoetry.bsky.social @dmcwriter.bsky.social @hdwp.com

TUESDAY TASTERS Reality was ripped to shreds by what Appeared: a werewolf get-up, fur so soft I dared to try it on. A perfect fit. "How much?" No one replied. What sort of game Is this? No matter how I tried, the pelt Adhered to me — became my second skin. Complaints were useless. Speech turned into howls. Hallowe’en Masquerade in New Orleans LindaAnn LoSchiavo Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. In the background behind the poem is an image of an orange leaf.

Hallowe’en Masquerade in New Orleans - @ghostlyverse.bsky.social
This poem follows a tourist whose search for a costume unravels into something far stranger. Curiosity seeps into metamorphosis in this uncanny piece.

Check out LindaAnn's recent collection:
www.prolificpulse.com/lindaannlosc...

@prolificpulsepress.bsky.social will host a 7 pm ZOOM reading on Nov. 18, 2025!
I'll read my eerie paranormal poms from "Cancer Courts My Mother."
@hwany.org @swsworlds.bsky.social @sfpoetry.bsky.social @hdwp.com @kimwhysallhammond.bsky.social @alpbeck.com
➡️ www.eventbrite.com/e/1966972195...

Sunday Snippets The many years lived of love and happiness and accumulated wealth in these bungalows could not stop the creep of loneliness and ill health though. Nothing ever can. Long lives lived behind four walls and almost seen, almost touched every day by him through letterboxes. Twelve, ten, eight. Aubade Close Derek Jennings Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. In the background behind the poem is an image of an orange leaf.

Aubade Close by Derek Jennings.

Thoughtful and melancholic, this piece offers a poignant take on the autumn theme. Derek transforms a mundane moment, an ordinary human experience, into something tender and compelling.

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Thursday Throwback He walked through the front door into his house without remembering how he got home, and dropped himself onto the couch, his breath rushed and shallow. He looked across at his wife's armchair and saw that her indentation from just a few hours ago was still there, as if she had stood only moments before and walked into the kitchen for a second cup of coffee. He found this heartbreaking, but also reassuring. It felt as if things had not really changed that much. As if his life had not been turned inside out. Armchair Alan Brickman Text is on a black background. In the bottom right corner is a drawing of an armchair with a yellow outline.

Armchair by Alan Brickman.
It's a poignant, resonant piece that beautifully explores the way grief interacts with memory & routine. Turning a mundane object into a metaphor for presence, absence, & grief, it's a moving and tender read

Find it in Issue 4.
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Tuesday Tasters Winging It Lee Fraser The baby is out but you are still forming your cocoon: advice column shreds, leaves from trending parenthood books, family tree twigs that you realise don’t hold to threadbare social fabric, but metamorphosis is not optional. Deconstruct your surroundings & internal world; pray it doesn’t all wind up hollow or tar. The poem takes the shape of a cocoon. Text is on a black background. Underbelly Press logo in the top right corner. In the background behind the poem is an image of an orange leaf.

Winging It by Lee Fraser

Striking both visually and internally, this piece uses enjambment beautifully to mirror its themes of deconstruction and metamorphosis. It’s unique and raw, exploring the inescapable transformation that comes with parenthood.

Read it now in Issue 5.

Thrilled to give your piece a home 🖤

I wrote this story in a mood during summer. The heat, the crowds, the emotional stuff that happens when we feel caged & then autumn comes along & changes everything.

So happy to be published with Underbelly Press. Here it is.

Beneath the Sun

#writing

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Chuffed to have you 🖤

So happy to be featured here, among this amazing roll call. Thank you, @underbellypress.bsky.social

Thank you for sharing!

Here's a great magazine, and what better time to fill a piece of Sunday with some Underbelly tales from a delight of great writers 📚

Thank you so much!

ACE mag

Thrilled to include it! 🖤

So chuffed to have my short story, 'Key Worker' included in issue 5 of Underbelly Press - there are some stellar pieces in this issue and I highly recommend anybody who is interested in the underbelly of existence to check it out - just follow the link below to download a PDF copy free!

Delighted to have you! 🖤