Kate Harvey, publishing director at Akoya, has acquired UK & Commonwealth rights to Wishbone by Laia Jufresa from Laurence Laluyaux at RCW Literary Agency, for publication in spring 2027. 

Wishbone unfolds across decades and world cities to tell the story of two artists. Tor runs a visionary Museum of Colour in Oaxaca, while Vica works odd jobs in Europe raising her beloved daughter. The women’s lives echo in unexpected ways: they have shared a lover and a devastating loss. But what is the true extent of their connection – and what really happened back in 1983, when everything began?

Described as ‘elegantly brilliant’ by Sarah Moss and ‘a tour de force’ by Valeria Luiselli, Wishbone is Mexican-born Jufresa’s first novel written in English and will be published in the US by Fern Books, as well as in major European territories.

Kate Harvey says: ‘Wishbone is a novel that dances while honouring the shadows, a love song to family, to memory, to possibility, to colour. Its sliding-doors timeline delights and teases until the final moment, when the choices and sacrifices made by women as parents, sisters and artists are revealed in a sharp new light. I fell immediately for the energy, vibrancy and deep emotion in Laia’s storytelling and I know readers everywhere will feel just the same.’ 

Laia Jufresa says: ‘I’ve lived with Wishbone for many years, and letting it go feels a little terrifying. I’m so grateful and relieved it’s found a home in Akoya’s loving, capable hands. I’ve been so impressed by what Kate Harvey and her team are building, and I’m truly honoured to join their remarkable list.'

ABOUT LAIA JUFRESA

Laia Jufresa is a Mexican author based in Edinburgh. She is the author of the widely acclaimed novel Umami and the memoir Veinte, veintiuno. In 2017 she was named one of the Bogotá39, a list of Latin America’s outstanding young writers under forty. Her work has been translated into a dozen languages and appeared in McSweeney’s, Vogue, and El País, among others. Wishbone is her second novel.

ABOUT AKOYA PUBLISHING

Founded in 2024 by Camilla Hagen, Akoya Publishing is a small, independent publisher based in London, dedicated to exceptional literature that celebrates courageous, visionary and innovative writing.