11-08-2025
Queer writing awards boycotted over nomination of gender-critical author
A prize celebrating the work of gay writers has been boycotted for nominating a gender-critical author.
The Polari Prize awards, celebrating LGBT literature, has come under fire after its longlist included Earth, a novella by John Boyne, a self-described 'Terf'.
So far, 800 writers and publishing workers have signed a statement objecting to Boyne's nomination, while 10 nominees have withdrawn their names in protest.
Boyne, best known for his 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was nominated for Earth, which tackles issues including homophobia and sexual assault.
The author has previously described himself as a 'fellow Terf' – a slur used to describe 'transgender-exclusionary radical feminists' – while expressing support for his friend JK Rowling in the Irish Independent.
The authors boycotting the prize called his inclusion on the longlist, published on Aug 6, 'inexcusable' in light of his comments.
In a statement, they said: 'His public statements on trans rights and identity are incompatible with the LGBTQ+ community's most basic standards of inclusion.
'In any year, the decision to include Mr Boyne on the longlist would be, in our view, inappropriate and hurtful to the wider community of LGBTQ+ readers and writers.
'That the decision has been made this year – in the context of rising anti-trans hatred and systematic exclusion of trans people from public life in the UK and across the world – is inexcusable.'
Alice Oseman, the Heartstopper author, is among a group of writers including Nikesh Shukla, Julia Armfield and Kirsty Logan, to have signed the statement.
They said Boyne 'has publicly and unequivocally associated himself with trans exclusionary sentiments.'
In April, Britain's highest court declared that transgender women are not legally women, with the ruling hailed as a victory by Rowling, the Harry Potter author.
Boyne's defence of Rowling has also seen two judges, including author Nicola Dinan, who won Polari's first book prize last year for her novel Bellies, withdraw from the prize. Jason Okundaye and Andrew McMillan have both asked for their novels to be removed from this year's nominations in protest.
In his tribute to Rowling, published last month, Boyne described some 'grown women' who supported trans rights as people who were 'astonishingly complicit in their own erasure'.
He also likened them to a female character from The Handmaid's Tale, who he said was 'ready to pin a handmaiden down as her husband rapes her'.
'We can at times hold radically different positions'
The Polari Prize has emphasised that the award was 'founded on the core principles of diversity and inclusion', but said books are not eliminated 'based on the wider views of a writer'.
A statement responding to the controversy said: 'We are committed to supporting trans right and amplifying trans voices, as demonstrated both in the history of the prize and the Polari salon, where trans and non-binary writers and performers have featured regularly as valued members of the LGBTQ+ writing community.
'It is inevitable, given the challenges we face and the diversity of the lived experience we now represent under the LGBTQ+ Polari umbrella, that even within our community, we can at times hold radically different positions on substantive issues. This is one of those times.
'John Boyne's novel Earth was included on the Polari Prize longlist on merit as judged by our jury, following the process and principles stated above. While we do not eliminate books based on the wider views of a writer, we regret the upset and hurt this has caused.
'Polari is committed to inclusion, not exclusion…Books are one of our best means to explore the most difficult and divisive issues, and we encourage an open dialogue across our community.'
