Belt was founded in 2013 to promote voices from the Rust Belt, and has expanded their focus to include smart narrative and serious nonfiction on any topic, as well as commercial fiction with a regional foothold. In 2023 Belt was acquired by Arcadia Publishing, where they remain an independent imprint.

Belt is excited to tell overlooked stories, particularly those written by writers from underrepresented backgrounds and flown-over places. They especially love books of cultural criticism, books with an urbanism theme or about progressive politics, smart histories that are not nostalgic, and those that "are hard to know where to shelve." We are drawn to scholarly research made plain. Belt publishes everything from memoir to criticism, fiction, maps, and cookbooks.