Lydi Conklin

'Songs of No Provenance is an unflinching masterpiece of transgressive empathy. Mining the rawest margins of shame and accountability, Conklin's visceral prose is able to hold even the thorniest facets of human experience with tenderness — which lets us get close enough to see the complex, redemptive possibilities only intimacy (and Conklin's skill) can make visible. This brilliant debut novel is a testimony: the very aspects of ourselves we fear wall us off from others — our kinks, secrets, jealousies, failures — may instead be doors of connection'

'Lydi Conklin’s protagonist Joan is unforgettable, a raw-voiced indy musician whose persona is tougher than her heart, and who struggles to understand her own complex identity. This bold, funny, moving novel follows Joan through wild upheaval to unexpected and exhilarating reconciliation.'

'This novel is a wild ride! A ribald romp asking profound questions about art-making, kink, self-deception, repair, and grace. Joan Vole is an unforgettable character and Lydi Conklin is a daring, delightful writer. I’ll read anything they write'

Claire Vaye Watkins, author of I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness

A suspenseful, wildly engaging debut novel following a musician spiraling in self-doubt and self-searching after a night – and a relationship – gone wrong. 
 
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 that she fears will doom her career. 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.

Lydi Conklin

Praise for Songs of No Provenance

'Songs of No Provenance is an unflinching masterpiece of transgressive empathy. Mining the rawest margins of shame and accountability, Conklin's visceral prose is able to hold even the thorniest facets ...

'Lydi Conklin’s protagonist Joan is unforgettable, a raw-voiced indy musician whose persona is tougher than her heart, and who struggles to understand her own complex identity. This bold, funny, moving novel follows ...

'This novel is a wild ride! A ribald romp asking profound questions about art-making, kink, self-deception, repair, and grace. Joan Vole is an unforgettable character and Lydi Conklin is a daring, delightful writer. ...

'Songs of No Provenance is an unflinching masterpiece of transgressive empathy. Mining the rawest margins of shame and accountability, Conklin's visceral prose is able to hold even the thorniest facets ...

'Lydi Conklin’s protagonist Joan is unforgettable, a raw-voiced indy musician whose persona is tougher than her heart, and who struggles to understand her own complex identity. This bold, funny, moving novel follows ...

'This novel is a wild ride! A ribald romp asking profound questions about art-making, kink, self-deception, repair, and grace. Joan Vole is an unforgettable character and Lydi Conklin is a daring, delightful writer. ...

'Songs of No Provenance is an unflinching masterpiece of transgressive empathy. Mining the rawest margins of shame and accountability, Conklin's visceral prose is able to hold even the thorniest facets ...

'Lydi Conklin’s protagonist Joan is unforgettable, a raw-voiced indy musician whose persona is tougher than her heart, and who struggles to understand her own complex identity. This bold, funny, moving novel follows ...

'This novel is a wild ride! A ribald romp asking profound questions about art-making, kink, self-deception, repair, and grace. Joan Vole is an unforgettable character and Lydi Conklin is a daring, delightful writer. ...

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