“Doyle is a knockout writer.” —Debutiful, "Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2026"
“I've had the pleasure of glimpsing Emily Doyle's muscular, heart-forward fiction in a writing workshop, and all I can say is brace yourselves. The body is front and center in these uniquely brewed stories, which range from surreal to poignant . . . This debut collection is thrillingly concerned with how we come to feel at ease in - or in power of - our meatsacks.” —Literary Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2026"
“Arresting . . . The stories are often bleak yet funny, using elements from science fiction and fantasy to highlight the difficulties characters have with communication . . . This surprising, genre-bending collection will appeal to lovers of grim humor and stories that feature characters learning to break out of constricting public and private roles.” —Library Journal, starred review
“The 11 stories in Emily Doyle's bracing debut collection, Please Don't Touch the Body, vibrate with undercurrents of guilty desire, delicious rage, and the bewildering mysteries of the underworld . . . Motherhood and its discontents loom large in this mesmerizing debut story collection combining high drama with supernatural mystery and characters spanning a diverse demographic range.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review
“Doyle's evocative collection . . . showcases ghosts in all forms . . . Doyle's debut embraces the strange and even stranger . . . Perfect for readers who appreciate oddities and dark humor with a dash of [science fiction].” —Booklist
“Surprises abound in Doyle's strange and sublime debut collection . . . [Doyle] brings her eccentric characters' humanity into poignant relief . . . Readers will find much to love in these dynamic and heartfelt stories.” —Publishers Weekly
“Humor threads throughout the strange and delightful stories . . . which include one where Ronald Reagan is reincarnated as a young girl's new puppy. Doyle writes freaky, funny, poignant queer short fiction, and I'm so thrilled about this debut collection.” —Autostraddle, "Our Most Anticipated Queer Books for July 2026"
“Doyle displays unusual and impressive range . . . The title story . . . brings together Doyle's eye for the odd and strange . . . In each of these stories she conjures a distinct atmosphere.” —California Review of Books
“Doyle blends humor and the bewildering with more emotionally sobering stories in her debut collection . . . Doyle explores community, loneliness, and the way we feel within our own bodies-bending genres along the way.” —Alta Journal
“A magnificent debut. In these carefully crafted stories, lonely people come face to face with the strange or the unsettling, leading to messy, horny, funny, and ultimately profound complications. Emily Doyle is a rising star.” —Laila Lalami, Pulitzer-Prize finalist and bestselling author of THE DREAM HOTEL
“The stories of Please Don't Touch the Body are stunning-wonderfully dry yet musical, with potent characterizations and sad humor.” —Charmaine Craig, National Book Award Longlisted author of MISS BURMA
“Please Don't Touch the Body drew me in with the glitter of a curious idea or question and its big-heartedness kept me reading. Emily Doyle offers up a thoughtful collection that studies the secret, hungry spaces within our loud human lives.” —Ramona Ausubel, author of THE LAST ANIMAL and A GUIDE TO BEING BORN
“What strange, beautiful, and deftly written stories. Here are women suffocating in their passivity, teetering between the lives that had been forced upon them and the lives they've yet to choose. Doyle is a writer to watch.” —Rita Chang-Eppig, author of DEEP AS THE SKY, RED AS THE SEA
“Open-heartedly honest, fiercely intelligent, and wonderfully fresh . . . Please Don't Touch the Body not only surprises and delights, it sings.” —Jessie Ren Marshall, author of WOMEN! IN! PERIL!
“Please Don't Touch the Body is heartbreaking and hopeful, with prose that is spare when necessary and bountiful elsewhere.” —Josh Emmons, author of THE LOSS OF LEON MEED
“An electrifying debut that thrums with dark humor, desire, and the uncanny ache of being alive. These effervescent stories are sharp as a scalpel and tender as a bruise. With prose that dazzles and disarms, Emily Doyle renders alienation and longing with both wit and grace, inviting us to experience the body - its hungers, its betrayals, its beauty - in all its unruly splendor.” —Alex Espinoza, author of THE SONS OF EL REY
