Brooklyn-based small publisher Under the BQE Press, which launched on September 24 with a Brooklyn Book Festival–sponsored event, has announced its inaugural slate of books and plans for the future. Through the press's unique publishing model, each year’s publication list is acquired by the authors who were published the year prior—so when writers signs a contract with the press, they also agree to be an acquisition editor for the next year's publication list.
Under the BQE was founded by Brian Russ, Lauren Belski, and David Greenwood, who serve as publisher, editorial director, and chief financial officer, respectively. While the press is not yet looking to hire full-time staffers, the core team is currently working with freelancers—including copy editors Stephen Aubrey and Brooke Watkins and artists Loni Gaghan and Dan Gratz—on the inaugural list.
Debut novels by Greenwood and Belski comprise Under the BQE's inaugural 2025 list. Greenwood and Belski acquired one another's work, and will acquire titles by other authors for next year's list. Greenwood's The Cloud Intern, slated for March, centers on a near-future in which people talk to "AI emulations of...loved ones and former selves," and Belski's Dark Enough, set for May, is a "bildungsroman set in the summer of 2000” that “follows a scholar athlete through a confusing summer in the wake of an unwelcome sexual encounter."
The press plans to release at least two titles in 2026, with plans to expand to four titles annually in 2027. Belski said that she and Greenwood are at work on next year's acquisitions and "are happy to work with agents or directly with authors," stressing that "it's very important for authors to understand and feel invested in the pass-it-forward editorial aspect of Under the BQE's publishing process." Belsi and Russ added, in a joint statement, "We want authors to feel excited and committed to the growth of the press, and motivated to build the readership and success of both their book and their acquisitions."
Under the BQE will be distributed by IPG beginning in May.
