The Holy in the Humdrum

is a tribute to rural lineage and country women, a love letter to Kentucky, a reckoning of home, and an intimate unpacking of self. Within these pages, Belle writes with reverence, humor, warmth, and lots o’ love.

The Observer Effect

unpacks our inner and outer lives, our perception versus our participation, and how we experience the world. The themes explored are girlhood and survival, queerness, religion (in the context of the rural South), creation, and existential reckoning through it all.

Push and Pull

grapples with what it means to survive, to live, to be, and to create. Themes of nature, synchronicity, rural culture, girlhood, and growth emerge in this collection.

Coverage on Politics, Rural/Appalachia, and Being Queer

“Queer Kentucky is a diverse LGBTQ+ run non-profit based in Kentucky working to bolster and enhance Queer culture, health and wellness through storytelling, education and action. Through our storytelling approach, we increase visibility, information, and access, while also celebrating the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the great Bluegrass State.”

Belle covered the 11 dubbed anti-LGBTQ+ bills from the 2023 legislative session, and they covered the 14 dubbed anti-LGBTQ+ bills from the 2024 legislative session.

Jan. 2023 - current

“Berries Over Blood” by Belle Townsend, featured on page 22. Published March 2020.