More than half of the authors longlisted for the Polari Prize, the annual British award for LGBTQ+ books, have withdrawn from consideration in protest over John Boyne being nominated for a prize, Literary Hub reports.
Boyne was longlisted for the Polari Book Prize, one of the two Polari awards, for his novella Earth. The Irish author, known for his bestselling 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, has been criticized for his comments on transgender people. He has described himself as a “TERF,” or “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” a term for supporters of women’s rights who do not consider transgender women to be women.
Poet Jay Hulme has been tracking the authors who have withdrawn from the prize on the social platform Bluesky. On Tuesday, he posted that 15 of the authors nominated for the Polari Book Prize and the Polari First Book Prize have pulled their books from consideration.
The authors who have withdrawn include Jane Traies, Andrew McMillan, Olumide Popoola, Eleanor Medhurst, Amy Twigg, and Mae Diansangu. In addition, two judges for the prizes, Nicola Dinan and Bob Hughes, have left their positions.
The Polari Prize posted a statement on the social platform X that reads in part, “While we do not eliminate books based on the wider views of a writer, we regret the upset and hurt this has caused….It remains deeply important to us that trans and non-binary readers and writers feel welcome, safe and supported by the Polari Prize and the Polari Salon and continue to participate in our movement as readers, writers and performers.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
