Songs for Other People's Weddings: A Novel

“Witty, romantic, and deeply satisfying.” —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

From award-winning, bestselling author David Levithan and beloved, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jens Lekman comes a charming, tender novel about an unlucky-in-love wedding singer trying to find the right words to save his relationship

J is an accidental wedding singer. Unlike most wedding singers, he writes an original song for every couple—his way of finding out about the small, strange things that brought them together and the hopeful, vulnerable feelings they’re experiencing.

J’s own love life is in a state of flux. His girlfriend is off to New York for work, and as her life grows bigger and busier without him in it, he finds it harder to stick to a happy tune. He doesn’t know whether to encourage the soon-to-be-wed couples or warn them.

When complications hit and love is tested, is there any way to sing through all the noise?

Combining David Levithan’s deeply observant storytelling and Jens Lekman’s inventive and touching original songs, Songs for Other People’s Weddings is a tender, honest novel that tracks love through all its chord changes, never forgetting that the best songs contain the bitter and the sweet, the despair of losing it all and the euphoria of being found.

“Surprising, funny, compassionate—Songs for Other People's Weddings Is not just lyrical, it sings.” —Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants and The Guncle

“A hilarious, heartfelt, and tremendously wise exploration of love in all its beguiling and bittersweet absurdity.” —Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding

© 2025 Abrams Press (Ebook): 9798887074702

Release date

Ebook: 5 August 2025