Louis Urbanowski's zombie comedy The Milks, about a man crossing ten miles of Stevenage to find his mates, went on sale on 21 October, in time for Halloween.

A Stevenage novelist has set a zombie apocalypse in his home town. The Milks, the second novel by Old Town writer Louis Urbanowski, went on sale on Wednesday 21 October, ten days before Halloween.

The book’s hero has to cross “ten miles of the apocalyptic concrete hellscape that is Stevenage” to find his friends. Its cover calls it “a British zombie comedy set in stunning …Stevenage”.

What the book is about

Tom Nowak is 29, hungover and waiting for his mum to cook him a fry-up when the dead come back. They leak white fluid, and they learn to copy the voices of the people around them. Tom calls them “the Milks”.

His friends have followed the survival plan he talked through in the pub the night before. So he has to cross the town to reach them. The author describes it as “a British zombie horror-comedy about grief, growing up, and the consequences of talking bollocks in the pub”.

The first chapter, which he gives away on his website, is full of the town. It mentions:

  • the Comet, “our local paper”
  • Stevenage Day, the town’s annual celebration
  • Stevenage’s claim to be the first New Town after the war
  • Lewis Hamilton, “our most famous alumnus”
  • the train to London, “a whopping twenty minutes” away

Urbanowski wrote to us earlier this month to say the book uses real Stevenage locations. We sent him questions and have not yet had his answers, so this story rests on the book’s published material. We will add his answers if they arrive.

The facts of publication

The paperback’s Amazon listing gives the details:
Publisher Urbanowski Press, the author’s own imprint
Published 21 October 2026
Length 296 pages
Formats Paperback and Kindle

On Saturday 24 October it was ranked seventh in Amazon UK’s Horror Parodies and Satires chart and 10th in Zombies, Werewolves and Vampires. (Amazon UK listing)

His first novel, The Right Members Club, came out as an ebook on 3 April 2026. It is a political comedy about a secret society of disgraced MPs. (Amazon UK listing)

How it was written

On his website, Urbanowski says he left a corporate career to write. He also writes openly about living with OCD. When brain fog made it hard to hold a chapter in his head, he says, he began “talking my books into existence” through voice notes that he then shaped into chapters. He invites other writers in the same position to contact him. (urbwrites.com, About)

What it means for you

  • To read it: the paperback and the Kindle edition are on Amazon UK now.
  • To try before you buy: the first chapter is free on the author’s site, in return for signing up to his mailing list.
  • Know a local writer, band or maker with news? We want to hear from them. Tell us on our send us your news page.

For more on what is happening in town this half term, see things to do in Stevenage.

Sources