Jacaranda to publish debut author Alejandro Heredia's 'heartbreaking exposé on queer youth'

Jacaranda Books is set to publish debut author Alejandro Heredia’s "heartbreaking exposé on queer youth", Loca. Valerie Brandes, CEO of Jacaranda Books, acquired UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights from the author. 

Loca is set in 1999 New York. Brandes described it as a "tender portrait of working-class life shown through a sepia-like, almost cinematic lens, that traverses queer lives and the ways in which they are intersected. With New York City as a character and backdrop for its residents’ dreams and inspirations, Loca explores the experience of being an immigrant and observes the suppressive challenges of heteronormativity".

Heredia is a queer Afro-Dominican writer from The Bronx, New York. He has received fellowships from organisations including Lambda Literary, the Dominican Studies Institute, The Kenyon Review and Trinity College.

Heredia said: "I’m thrilled that Loca will be published by Jacaranda Books alongside a brilliant catalogue of diasporic writers. The Caribbean diaspora is vast, spanning languages and cultures – my hope is for the locas in my novel to expand what it means to be born to those islands, what it means to be a queer person leaving their home behind, and to push readers to think and feel deeply about the role of friendship in all of our lives."

Brandes added: "Without any compromise, Alejandro has centred and illuminated gay boys and men, trans women and queer culture while embedding the reader in a world that is complicated and kind. It was a joy to live and grow with these characters. In a time when community and love are more important than ever, Loca is a resounding affirmation of both. Heredia’s writing is adept and restrained, letting the world and characters he has created speak for themselves. It is an honour to bring this gorgeous novel to the UK market.”
Loca is set to be published on 2nd July.