Annabel Abbs is a multi-award-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction, published internationally in 30 languages. She grew up in Wales and Sussex. Daughter of academic and poet, Peter Abbs, she has a degree in English Literature from the University of East Anglia and a Masters from the University of Kingston. She lives with her family in London and Sussex, and is a Fellow of the Brown Foundation.
Annabel’s debut novel, The Joyce Girl, won the 2015 Impress Prize for New Writing and the 2015 Spotlight First Novel Award, and was longlisted for the 2015 Caledonia Novel Award, the 2015 Bath Novel Award and the 2016 Waverton Good Read Award. It was a Reader Pick in The Guardian 2016 and was one of ten books selected for presentation at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival. In 2022 it was shortlisted for France’s Grand Prix de Lecteurs. Published across the world, Annabel discussed The Joyce Girl on BBC Radio 4’s Soul Music. It is currently being adapted for the stage.
Her second novel, Frieda: The Original Lady Chatterley, was a Times Book of the Month, then a Times Book of the Year 2018 and one of five novels selected for presentation to film directors at the 2017 Frankfurt Book Fair. Frieda has been translated into six languages. Annabel spoke about Frieda on BBC Woman’s Hour.
Annabel’s third novel, the story of Eliza Acton, Britain’s first domestic goddess, and a best-selling cookery book writer (and a poet) was published in the US in October 2021, by William Morrow as Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen. It was selected for Good Housekeeping’s Book Club Pick, Country Living Magazine’s Autumn Pick, the Historical Novel Society’s Editor’s Choice and the New York Times Books‘ Best Historical Fiction for Winter. In the UK, the novel was acquired at auction by Simon & Schuster, and published in February 2022 as The Language of Food. It has been translated into eighteen languages. In 2021 it was optioned by Stampede Ventures and CBS, and in 2024 it won France’s Pocket Award for Best Foreign Fiction (the Grand Prix de lecteurs.)
Annabel’s first non-fiction book, The Age-Well Project, was published by Little, Brown in 2019, co-written with TV producer, Susan Saunders, and based on their acclaimed blog agewellproject.com, longlisted for the 2018 UK Blog Awards. It was an instant Amazon best seller.
Annabel’s first foray into narrative non-fiction, Windswept: Why Women Walk, was acquired at auction by John Murray and published in June 2021. In the US, Windswept was acquired by Tin House and published with the subtitle Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women. Windswept tells the extraordinary stories of eight women who walked long distances in wild and often remote places as they sought their own voices. They include Simone de Beauvoir, Nan Shepherd, Georgia O’Keeffe, Gwen John and Daphne du Maurier. Windswept has been acquired in countries across Europe, including Italy, Holland, France, Catalonia and Germany, and was voted a Top Ten 2021 Travel Book by Smithsonian Magazine and Wanderlust Magazine, as well as Australia’s Travel Magazine. In 2022, Windswept was shortlisted for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize. In 2025 It was published in paperback in the US.
In spring 2022, Annabel’s third non-fiction book was published, under the name Annabel Streets: 52 Ways to Walk (Bloomsbury UK and Putnam Penguin Random House US) is an exploration of the lesser-known science behind the simple act of walking. Reviews described it as ‘spiritual, educational and informative’ (Booklist), and ‘a delightful balance of ideas, inspiration and science’ (Tristan Gooley, author of The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues & Signs).
Annabel’s seventh book, Sleepless, came out in January 2024 and was a Times Book of the Week.
Annabel has written for numerous publications including The Guardian, The Observer, The Washington Post, The Paris Review, Tatler, The Irish Times, Aeon, Good Housekeeping, Weekend Australian Review, Elle, Sydney Morning Post, The Author, The Daily Telegraph, Psychologies Magazine, Philosophy Now and the Huffington Post. She has been profiled in The Guardian, Writing Magazine, Sussex Life, Next NZ, Litro and Female First and speaks regularly at literary festivals. She sponsors a scholarship/bursary on the UEA Creative Writing MA. Find out more here.
Find Annabel on Instagram at @annabelabbs.
Hear Annabel discussing Frieda with Jenni Murray on BBC Woman’s Hour here. Find Annabel walking with Clare Balding on Ramblings here.