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# Polari Prize issues update after being plunged into controversy following inclusion of "TERF author" John Boyne on 2025 longlist
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/polari-prize-issues-update-after-being-plunged-into-controversy-following-inclusion-of-terf-author-john-boyne-on-2025-longlist/
- Published: 2025-08-13T12:41:51.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-13T12:43:40.000Z
- Author: Graham Robson

The **Polari Prize**, the annual prize for LGBTQ+ literature, has issued an update after being plunged into controversy following the inclusion of "TERF author" **John Boyne** on its 2025 longlist. Boyne, best known for *The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas*, has publicly described himself as a “TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), a stance that has sparked widespread backlash within the queer literary community. 

Boyne’s novella *Earth* was longlisted for the Polari Book Prize, prompting more than half of the nominated authors to withdraw their works in protest. Among those who pulled out are **Jane Traies**, **Andrew McMillan**, **Olumide Popoola**, **Eleanor Medhurst**, **Amy Twigg**, **Mae Diansangu**, **Jason Okundaye**, **Sanah Ashan** and **Sacha Coward**. Two judges, **Nicola Dinan** and **Bob Hughes**, also resigned from their roles. 

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Writing on Instagram, Polari Prize said it wishes to "sincerely apologise" and accepts "the decision of those writers and judges who have chosen to withdraw." 

The Polari Prize added: "We are committed to going forward with the prize this year. However, we will be intaking a full review of the prize processes, consulting representatives from across the community ahead of next year's awards, taking on board the learnings from this year." 

The controversy intensified after Boyne [published a tribute](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books-arts/book-news/john-boyne-on-jk-rowling-as-a-writer-im-in-awe-of-her-achievements-as-a-reader-i-love-her-work-and-as-a-fellow-terf-i-stand-four-square-behind-her/a857888465.html?ref=scenemag.co.uk) to **J.K. Rowling** in the *Irish Independent*, aligning himself with her views and referring to himself as a “fellow TERF”. In the piece, he criticised women who support trans rights, likening them to characters complicit in abuse from *The Handmaid’s Tale.*