polariprize

8d

#PSA #PolariPrize #Transphobia @bookstodon
Author Sasha Coward withdraws "Queer as Folklore" from the Polar Prize long list over the inclusion of John Boyne, transphobe. (his original post here: https://bsky.app/profile/sachacoward.bsky.social/post/3lvwhq7ljik23)

Also, there's an open letter you can sign, here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfe8SgwGycvDaXMHHzoRkuYDDbABS_R7-0EgsVN1QMMBKYl0w/viewform?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwMCfj5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpxqBq16p0cryC_CvEDnzlJrh8pdH3X_GcMNRiZJ5VGVn0FfvqL7jsgB7CRQa_aem_jzYCfgNCzD2HWJdh2qjGhg&pli=1

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This really sucks. I was overjoyed to be put on the Polari long list alongside other incredible LGBTQ+ authors. Absolutely over the moon in fact!

But an author, who has called themselves trans exclusionary, and has equated cis women who support trans folk with sexual abusers, has been included. I simply cannot continue with this in good faith.

The quality of his work is irrelevant. This is supposedly an aware for ALL LGBTQ+ folk. Celebrating inclusion. Not exclusion and division.

My book is about ALL queer folk, it was supported by trans people and read by trans people. After the recent statement from Polari, I find myself unsatisfied. I have to go with my integrity here just to be able to look myself in the mirror.

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Author statement on the Polari Prize longlist:

We are writers, editors, publishers and booksellers who stand in solidarity with the trans community. We are profoundly disappointed by the Polari Prize’s decision to include John Boyne on the longlist for this year’s Polari Book Prize.

The prize, in its own words, was founded on principles of diversity and inclusion. In a statement published on Instagram this week, it reasserted its commitment to supporting trans rights and amplifying trans voices.

John Boyne has publicly and unequivocally associated himself with trans exclusionary sentiments, most recently describing himself as a “fellow Terf” in an article for the Irish Independent, celebrating JK Rowling’s 60th birthday (John Boyne on JK Rowling: ‘As a writer, I’m in awe of her achievements. As a reader, I love her work. And as a fellow Terf, I stand four-square behind her’, 27 July 2025).

Mr Boyne’s public statements on trans rights and identity are incompatible with the LGBTQ+ community’s most basic standards of inclusion. Trans people’s existence and their right to live full public lives as they choose are matters of fact, not questions for debate.

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Author statement on the Polari Prize long list:

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.

We stand in solidarity with Nicola Dinan, a former winner of the Polari First Book Prize and judge for this year's First Book Prize, who has resigned from the jury. We also offer our solidarity to the other writers on the longlists, whose work doesn't deserve to be overshadowed by this decision.

We believe in the celebration of LGBTQ+ voices in UK publishing. We want there to be a literary prize that recognises the vital importance of queer and trans stories. That’s why we’re calling on the Polari Prize to formally remove Mr Boyne from the longlist, to restore the integrity of this prize as a safe, inclusive and celebratory space for the LGBTQ+ community.

Edited 8d ago

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