Polari book prize cancelled after row over gender-critical novelist
Organisers of the award for LGBTQ+ writers have paused the prize this year, after controversy over the longlisting of John Boyne meant it was ‘overshadowed by hurt and anger’A prize celebrating LGBTQ+ literature has cancelled its awards this year, after a row over the longlisting of an author...
<p>Organisers of the award for LGBTQ+ writers have paused the prize this year, after controversy over the longlisting of John Boyne meant it was ‘overshadowed by hurt and anger’</p><p>A prize celebrating LGBTQ+ literature has cancelled its awards this year, after a row over the longlisting of an author who has described himself as a “Terf” – the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.</p><p>From a total longlist of 24, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/jayhulmepoet.bsky.social/post/3lwdwisaxxk2h">16 authors</a> and two judges withdrew from this year’s prize, and more than 800 writers and publishing industry workers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/11/polari-prize-nominees-and-judges-withdraw-after-inclusion-of-john-boyne-over-gender-identity-views">signed a statement</a> protesting against the inclusion of John Boyne, the author best known for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/19/polari-literary-prize-cancelled-over-the-boy-in-striped-pyjamas-author-john-boyne">Continue reading...</a>
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