John Boyne has responded to the controversy over his longlisting for the Polari Prize, the annual U.K. literary award for LGBTQ+ books.

The Irish author made the longlist for the Polari Book Prize, one of two Polari awards, for his novella Earth, which is collected in the forthcoming book The Elements. His nomination sparked outrage among people who object to the author’s views on transgender people.  Boyne 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.

After the longlist was made public, more than half the writers on the lists for the Polari Book Prize and the Polari First Book Prize withdrew their books from consideration.

On Thursday, Boyne posted a statement on the social platform X, asking the debut authors who withdrew to reconsider. “The organisers stood firm and didn’t expel me from the longlist, which I appreciated,” he wrote. “And I am not withdrawing from the longlist. However, should the debut writers all return, I would respectfully ask the judges not to consider Earth for the shortlist. I don’t think I can say any fairer than that.”

Boyne said that he writes to cope with his own experience as a survivor of sexual abuse and that the controversy surrounding the Polari Prize had taken a toll on his mental health.

“I came very close to the edge this week because of endless harassment at the hands of both strangers and fellow writers,” he wrote. “I remained silent throughout but there’s been a few moments where I thought it would be easier not to go on. There’s really only so much abuse one person can take.…Online bullying has to stop.”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.