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Table of Contents
About The Book
Prue is a thirty-year-old attorney who wants two things—the first is to live without psychotropic medication, and the second is to experience success as a rap artist. Her life is good on paper: she has an easy government job and a nice girlfriend who gets her in to all the right shows, but she wants to truly thrive.
When Prue is introduced to music producer Jax Jameson, a human disco ball as manic and unpredictable as he is talented, they instantly vibe. Prue joins Jax’s “Kingdom,” a collective of musicians and artists who share Prue’s aesthetic sensibilities and lust for escapism.
Soon, she’s off her meds, closing her law practice, and becoming entangled with a suspect crew of heavy drug users. The group they form, Shiny AF, quickly reaches cult status and using the stage name Vagablonde, Prue finds herself in a new reality dependent on self-commodification and her growing fandom’s approval.
An existential exploration of the toxicity of viral fame, Vagablonde is an “intoxicating” (Kirkus Reviews) and tumultuous portrait of life in Los Angeles and announces Anna Dorn as a fierce new voice in contemporary fiction.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 6, 2026)
- Length: 336 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668246412
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Raves and Reviews
"Anna Dorn writes vivid, striking prose that reinterprets pop culture, the particularities of Southern California, and the complex technology of our human brains. An original, hilarious, and spot on debut."
—Dana Spiotta
A fantastic novel that feels contemporary in all the right ways. In the world of Vagablonde, fame is more important than mental health, good lighting is more important than food, and ‘thriving’ is more important than any mundane obligation. Anna Dorn’s sentences are sharp and addictive, absorbing me completely into this world of music, friendship, and self-interrogation."
—Chelsea Hodson
"As a Virgo with control issues, I devoured this tale of a Virgo out of control. A provocative exploration of the tenacious narcissism that it takes to #thrive, Vagablonde is also a serious inquiry into the ways our blue check verified culture fractures our public and private selves."
—Courtney Maum
"It’s tempting to compare Vagablonde to Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays... But Dorn’s firecracker of a novel is all her own."
—Michael Schaub, ALTA
"Dorn’s fresh, startling debut tracks the quick rise to fame of a restless L.A. rap artist. Prue Van Teesen, a 30-year-old lawyer and bedroom lyricist, believes the antidepressants she’s taking are cramping her style... Dorn’s voice slices like a serrated knife through a wacked-out world of contemporary music culture, where glittery dreams go viral and die."
—Publishers Weekly
"Dorn’s narrative is intoxicating, particularly in its depiction of the existential ennui that’s stemmed from our insatiable consumer culture... Dorn may have written the horror novel we deserve."
—Kirkus Reviews
"When readers meet Prue, she’s living a privileged LA life: doing uppers on special occasions, going to shows with her girlfriend at night, and writing freelance legal briefs during the day. Prue is simply biding her time until her rap career, under the pseudonym Vagablonde, can take off... The author is careful to never judge Prue, leaving readers wondering whether the story constitutes satire or is simply a precautionary tale. A memorable meditation on narcissism and fame."
—Booklist
“Dorn adeptly mines the unique cultural territory of being a Hollywood-adjacent young queer woman in the early 21st century.”
—LAMBDA Literary
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Vagablonde
Trade Paperback 9781668246412
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Author Photo (jpg): Anna Dorn Sally Sum(0.1 MB)
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