The excitement is building ahead of the publication of Hannah Stevens’ forthcoming collection of stories ON THE BODIES OF STRANGERS and so we thought we would share the endorsements the book has received so far.
‘Meticulously observed and emotionally compelling, this collection shows Hannah Stevens is a vital voice in contemporary short fiction.’ - Victoria MacKenzie
Victoria MacKenzie is a fiction writer, poet and essayist based in Scotland. She is author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain and the forthcoming Each Leaf, Each Curve of Stem.
‘A collection that pulses with yearning for connection and desire for change. Each story captures moments that mark their characters, both figuratively and literally, leaving them transformed in ways both visible and unseen. As finely drawn as a beautiful tattoo, Hannah Steven’s stories reveal both the pain and joy that life can bring, and how a line as thin as that laid down by the tattooist’s needle can lie between the two.’ - Dan Powell
Dan Powell is author of Looking Out of Broken Windows, which was shortlisted for the Scott Prize and longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the Edge Hill Prize. Dan is currently writer-in-residence at First Story.
‘Hannah Stevens’s stories offer poignant glimpses into complex human lives. They sensitively capture the fluctuating micro-powers of relationships, the casual cruelties and kindnesses people share with each other. As incisive as a tattooist’s needle, they demonstrate that sometimes beautiful things come from pain.’ - Jonathan Taylor
Jonathan Taylor is the author of books including Scablands and Other Stories, Entertaining Strangers and Take Me Home. He is Associate Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester.
In case you’ve missed it, ON THE BODIES OF STRANGERS is a collection of short stories linked by the theme of tattoos, exploring marked lives and marked flesh. In 2022 it was shortlisted for the W&A Working Class Writers’ Prize.
These are stories about the chaos of ordinary lives, about people who are flawed, complicated, but always deeply human. From domestic abuse to unexpected friendship, mixing horror and hope, intimacies and lies, ON THE BODIES OF STRANGERS explores the many ways we mark each other and ourselves as we deal with the complexities of human behaviour.
ON THE BODIES OF STRANGERS will be published by Wind&Bones Books on 7th July 2026 and is available for pre-order here - https://books.windandbones.com/product/on-the-bodies-of-strangers.
A huge thank you to Vicky, Dan and Jonathan - all brilliant and busy authors - for taking the time to read the advance copy of the book and share such lovely endorsements. It really means a lot to a small publisher like us here at Wind&Bones Books.
