A suspenseful wildly engaging novel following a musician spiraling in self-doubt and
self-searching after a night - and a relationship - gone wrong. 'A raw emphatic novel of
exceptional power' Carmen Maria Machado 'Takes your breath away' Katie Kitamura Songs of
No Provenance tells the story of Joan Vole an indie folk singer forever teetering on the edge
of fame who flees New York after committing a shocking sexual act onstage. With the threat of
an internet storm looming over her Joan seeks refuge at a writing camp for teenagers in rural
Virginia where she's forced to question her own toxic relationship to artmaking - and her
complicated history with a friend and mentee - while finding new hope in her students and a
deepening intimacy with a nonbinary artist and fellow camp staff member. Lydi Conklin boldly
explores kink shame queer appropriation fame hunger cancel culture trans nonbinary
identity and how to make art without ego all the while asking how Joan might forge a new
future for herself. Suffused with flashbacks to a musical underworld as seductive as it is
seedy Songs of no Provenance is a visceral gutsy and profound debut novel about love
self-acceptance and clawing oneself to safety.
