Anti-trans scandal roils major LGBTQ+ literary prize as authors withdraw en masse

Since its launch in 2011, the U.K.'s Polari Prize has become one of the most prestigious LGBTQ+ literary awards in the world, amplifying and celebrating a generation of queer literature and authors from a "wealth of genres and forms, including poetry, memoir, crime and thriller, and romantasy." However, as the awards prepare for their 15th anniversary this year, the Polari Prize has been rocked by an unfolding controversy over nominee John Boyne, a self-described "TERF" or "trans-exclusionary radical feminist," who celebrated author J.K. Rowling's history of anti-trans bigotry in an essay for her birthday last month. In response to Boyne and his novel "Earth" being longlisted for this year's Polari Prize, multiple nominees and judges have withdrawn their participation in the annual event.

'Radically different positions'

The Polari Prize has become "mired in controversy" with Boyne's inclusion "attracting negative attention" almost immediately after the awards longlist was published on Aug. 1, said Assigned Media. And while the Polari Prize committee "addressed the controversy" in a statement acknowledging Boyne's anti-trans history, the group ultimately "fueled the flames" by defending his nomination in general. "We can at times hold radically different positions on substantive issues," the committee said in their statement, calling the ongoing controversy "one of those times."

While the prize committee "might believe" that by maintaining Boyne's nomination they are being "inclusive of authors with differing beliefs," the transgender exclusionary movement is not a "healthy philosophical questioning of what gender means," said fellow Polari nominee Avi Ben-Zeev in a short message on Instagram. Still, while Ben-Zeev can "appreciate" other authors who have withdrawn themselves from the running, to do so himself "would mean erasing my trans story, my voice," he said. That, ultimately, would mean "letting transphobic ideologues win."

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'Rising anti-trans hatred'

In addition to the 12 authors and two judges who have publicly withdrawn from participating in Polari over Boyne's inclusion so far, more than 800 authors and publishing industry figures have signed an open letter calling for his removal from the awards longlist. While his inclusion would have been "inappropriate and hurtful to the wider community of LGBTQ+ readers and writers" at any time, the letter's authors said, the fact that it's happening "in the context of rising anti-trans hatred and systematic exclusion of trans people from public life in the U.K. and across the world" is "inexcusable."

While Boyne is "probably strong enough to withstand" this ongoing controversy, it's a "different matter" for the Polari Prize itself, said Liam Kelly at The Telegraph. The prize committee recognizes the "hurt and anger" that Boyne's inclusion has caused, the group said in a statement Monday to the outlet. Accordingly, the group will be "undertaking a full review" of their prize process, and plans to consult "representatives from across the community ahead of next year's awards."

The Polari Prize shortlists are expected to be released in September, with the final awards named this coming November.