In the fall of 1999, a group of veteran Southern authors -- having published more than one hundred novels of their own with some of the biggest publishing houses in the country -- decided to start their own small press to showcase the rich storytelling traditions of Southern writers. And so BelleBooks was created.

BelleBooks is based in Atlanta, Georgia with additional offices in Memphis, Tennessee and Saltillo, Mississippi. The company motto is "Southern Fried Fiction At Its Finest." Quality, integrity, and innovation— both as publishers and as writers—guide the company’s four dedicated directors .  

BelleBooks launched its first title in May 2000. SWEET TEA AND JESUS SHOES is a collection of humorous and poignant short stories inspired by the partners' Southern roots. Two more anthologies -- MORE SWEET TEA and ON GRANDMA'S PORCH -- have followed.

The second BelleBooks' title, MOSSY CREEK, a collective novel about a fictional town in the North Georgia mountains, was released in June 2001, and has been followed annually by new books in the Mossy Creek Hometown Series. "The Critters of Mossy Creek," book seven, is scheduled for late 2008. In 2009 BelleBooks will launch a spin-off series of cozy mysteries set in Mossy Creek.

A January 2002 release, ALICE AT HEART by bestselling author and BelleBooks' partner Deborah Smith, was BelleBooks' first single-author title. Since then the press has added novels by acclaimed authors including Carolyn McSparren, Jacquelyn Cook and Milam McGraw Propst. Deborah Smith's novels for BelleBooks, A GENTLE RAIN and THE CROSSROADS CAFE, are multiple award winners.

BelleBooks has also published one non-fiction book, BRA TALK, by two-time Oprah guest Susan Nethero, and has ventured into illustrated childrens' books with KASEYBELLE THE TINIEST FAIRY and ASTRONAUT NOODLE AND THE PLANET VELOCITY. 

In 2008 BelleBooks is launching a new division, Bell Bridge Books, to publish ebooks and POD editions exclusively. Bell Bridge Books will focus primarily on novels in the fantasy genre but will also include reprints and original fiction and nonfiction across the publishing spectrum.

Also on tap for the company is a new audio division. Bellebooks Audio plans to produce five audiobooks from backlist titles in 2008.