Abigail Nathan

An agent with Alex Adsett Literary (see other agents at this agency).

About

Abigail Nathan has been working in publishing since 2001. She started Bothersome Words Editing & Writing Services in 2004 and has edited for various Australian publishers including Allen & Unwin, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Harlequin, and Simon & Schuster, as well as UK publishers including Angry Robot, Hachette and Gollancz.
As an editor, Abigail’s work with publishers has been on commercial fiction and non-fiction, with a particular focus on genre – including speculative fiction, crime, romance and erotica – for authors such as Tea Cooper, Alastair Reynolds, Louise Carey and many others. She also works regularly with emerging and self-publishing writers as an editor, mentor, and book coach.
Abigail is based in Sydney and when not lurking around conventions and writing festivals, she is usually buried under cats and books, and primarily dwells online @BothersomeWords.

Limited Demographic: Submissions are restricted to authors in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific or SE Asia.

Country

Australia

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

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Fiction Temp Closed

As an agent, Abigail is looking for engaging plots and convincing characters. Something that will keep her turning the pages and that will stay with her after she’s finished reading. There are some rules and conventions it pays to follow, but something a bit weird or slightly (or very) unexpected will pique her interest, and characters that touch a nerve or worlds that make us question the status quo are always welcome. Above all, she’s looking for great stories, told well – fiction in general and all things genre: sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, horror, crime, thriller, romance (and any combination of those), for adult, YA or middle grade.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Adults, Children, Middle grades, Young adults.

Genres:

General
Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres
Mystery/Crime Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cozy
Romance Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Historical, Romantic Fantasy, Romantic Mystery
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres
Suspense/Thriller Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Romantic Suspense

Lengths:

Novel

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Submissions:

Method: QueryTracker.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

No recent cover image of a book represented by Abigail Nathan available.

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Social:
Bluesky @bothersomewords.bsky.social
Facebook Facebook
Instagram @bothersomewords
X (Twitter) @BothersomeWords
Facebook Facebook
Instagram @alexadsett
X (Twitter) @alexadsett

For the Agent:
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Abigail Nathan Submission Statistics

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We have not received any submission reports for this listing in the past 12 months.

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Dates

Last Updated: 28 Jul 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.