I’m excited to share the announcement of the publication of Abbey Nash’s YA contemporary romance, Breathing Underwater!

Della Farrell at Holiday House has acquired Breathing Underwater by Abbey Nash, a YA novel about a competitive swimmer whose carefully planned future is threatened by an epilepsy diagnosis just before a national meet. As she struggles with change and uncertainty, an unexpected romance shows her there may be more to life than making plans. Publication is slated for summer 2024; Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency sold world rights.

Once upon a time…

This deal came about in a rather curious and untraditional (for me, at least) way.

Earlier in 2021, Abbey queried me this compelling and unique project. My husband’s younger sister is a competitive swimmer, and I latched onto this Type A, driven, accomplished character immediately. I felt there was a lot of potential here and requested a revision to address the pacing. Abbey was incredible and edited like a queen, really making the pages turn and the plot propel forward, while keeping the characters engaging and full of depth, warmth, and heart.

But (shame on me) I was slow to get my butt moving on submissions due to other factors in the industry. And so (kuddos to Abbey) Abbey submitted the manuscript to an open call at Holiday House. Holiday House came back with an offer, and Abbey approached me asking for my thoughts and feedback on the revision and, ultimately, representation and assistance on negotiating the offer. I was excited to dive back into Breathing Underwater, and Abbey and I hopped on the phone to discuss her other project ideas. I want to represent a person for their career, and after chatting with Abbey I knew I wanted to champion her current and future work––YA, adult, contemporary, romcoms, women’s fiction, the whole spectrum, no question!

So once she signed with me, I began negotiating her offer with Holiday House. And now we have a deal!

And the rest…is history.

Abbey’s journey to publication is an incredibly special one! I’m excited to see where it takes us, and I can’t wait for you to meet Tess and Charlie in summer 2024!

Congratulations, Abbey!