Editor's note​​

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A year ago, Underbelly Press was just beginning, and I had no idea where it would take me. It was a newly birthed idea, slowly taking shape and finding its feet. I didn’t know what would come of it, only that I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and create something meaningful.

Now, with the release of Issue 4, we celebrate a full year of this little magazine’s life. What began as an uncertain venture has become an incredible experience, and it is such a privilege to watch Underbelly Press evolve and resonate with others. This anniversary issue holds particular weight. It reflects not only the passing of time, but the countless hours of reading, editing, connecting, and learning that have gone into building something from the ground up. There’s a rawness in the pieces we’ve selected, a vulnerability that pulses through this issue, touching on memory, identity, loss, and the strange beauty of being human. I hope you find yourself somewhere within these pages. There’s something remarkable about the way words can find us at exactly the right moment, and I hope this issue offers that for someone out there.

My sincere thanks to everyone who has supported Underbelly Press this past year, to those who’ve submitted their work, shared our issues, or simply read and felt something. You’ve helped create this space, and I’m very grateful. You’ve helped turn a flicker of an idea into something real and lasting. 

If you’re creating something that doesn’t yet have a home, don’t give up. Start the thing that scares you. Trust the slow beginnings. The world is better when you make your voice known.
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- Lucy Huddleston, Editor-in-Chief