Polari prize nominees withdraw over inclusion of 'terf' John Boyne

[QAOPspaceman]

A third of the nominated authors and a judge have withdrawn from the Polari prize because John Boyne, apparently a self-confessed terf (!) and friend of JK Rowling (!!!), is nominated. He wrote The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and has previously said "while I will happily employ any term that a person feels best defines them... I reject the notion that someone can force an unwanted term on to another" so is clearly a fascist.

Have never read his stuff but am tempted to order his complete works immediately.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/polari-prize-will-review-processes-after-a-third-of-nominated-authors-withdraw-books-from-longlist

https://archive.ph/J39nH

i reckon the entire prize/org will be dead and gone within 3 years of now.

The D.E.I Vampire devours everything as soon as you invite it over your threshold.

Interesting post on X from David Thompson, who made the BBC Stonewall podcast (and seems to have been the driving force and brains behind it). Hopefully he will tell the story one day. It would be great to have a really engaging expose of the gender ideology bullies

Nolan seems like an out and out TRA these days. David Thompson was obviously the brains. Looking back it's even more remarkable that podcast ever made it to air. I can't wait to hear all the machinations that went on, I suspect there's probably a book in it.

I know that's true, but if they did take that approach, what could the TRA's do? Basically learn to play nicely or flounce off and lose out. They might hold a shouty demo or two but in reality, GC authors and books do actually get on shortlists and win awards - even though there are probably TRAs in various positions trying to make sure they get discriminated against where possible - and transactivism cannot actually convincingly argue that they shouldn't, in the light of all the court cases proving that that would be unlawful discrimination.

I really think this could have been a great opportunity to get through to these people that they'd get a better outcome for themselves by learning to live and let live - as Boyne tried to do with his statement.

The statement is on one level really upsetting. Because basically it is saying so that next time by having more judges who are trans rather than LGB, no "upsetting" nominee will happen.

ie John Boyne should never have got on the list.

The bullies have won.

From now on the award will be given only to those spotlessly clean of independent thought. Might I suggest that its name be changed to "The Pole of Shame"?

But this is what happens in revolutions - the revolutionaries compete to be the purest in thought and they turn on each other with their revolutionary fervour, thus extinguishing the revolution. The sooner they exclude anyone ‘not pure of thought’ the sooner it will burn itself out (that’s my hope, anyway)
Agreed @WhatterySquash, they could have continued with a number of nominees missing, but then the winner would have had a hollow victory, with people assuming they only won because so and so dropped out.

What an absolute shambles!
One good things is JB says he has loads more books he wants to write. He is one of my favourite authors so this pleases me.
I'll be avoiding Polari prize winners for a while though.

I'm embarrassed for these grovelling fools and the Arts generally.

JB's book The Echo Chamber features Aidan who is now Nadia, a BBC interviewer who is on the rack for his misgendering antics, a tortoise that likes After Eight mints, a Ukrainian lover, a pregnant mistress. OMG it is just so bizarre, bonkers, funny and relevant to ahem, certain themes. Just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone who hasn't read it yet!

Inspired by this thread, I've just started it, it's very funny 😂

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/2025/08/18/literary-prize-cancels-annual-award-following-backlash-over-inclusion-of-irish-author-john-boyne/

There's an article about this in the Irish times too, I just came on to post it and saw there's already a thread. Sorry, the article is behind a paywall. It's shocking to read though, so biased against John Boyne and 'terfs' in general. Hard to believe it's one of our main national newspapers (I'm in Ireland).

Didn't seem to be behind paywall, but if it is you get one free look here is an archive link https://archive.is/1Z12Z If it doesn't click just copy and paste into browser bar.

Thanks! I was able to read it but thought it was coz I had the subscription.

The toxic gender identity movement destroys absolutely everything it touches, doesnt it? (as well as people's brains, rationality and ethics).

… children’s and adult's bodies, families, education, healthcare, institutions, political parties, countries…

I will go out and buy one of his books tomorrow.

JB will have sold more books than the rest of the writers on that list combined. A prize that is judged on the political complicity of the author rather than the literary merit of the book will swiftly make itself irrelevant as it will no longer be a marker of quality.
JB is a talented and versatile writer. He can appeal to children and adults across different genres. I recently read Earth which was nominated for the Polari in less than a day. Others have said that the Echo Chamber is laugh out loud hilarious and it really is.
He can hold his head high for showing such integrity and like JKR he is a stand out winner.

Thanks for the link.
The Irish Times is notoriously pro-gender-woo, though I think it has started to give a slight nod toward objectivity these days - it reported the UKSC ruling, for instance, without giving the last word to TENI [Trans Equality Network Ireland] which is what it always used to do😡
The Irish Independent seems to be the most open to a somewhat GC angle..

Reported in the Times (not the Irish one) now as well:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/17c947b4-ee9b-4052-a78c-d49009015157?shareToken=239b8d536f8333faa6c6ff02eea58bcc

Compare and contrast. I unsubscribed from The Irish Times a few years back. The Irish Independent has been a bit better but the Irish media overall is suffocatingly homogeneous and incurious. Sure aren't we great.

What is the Examiner like? Since it's supposed to be a national paper these days.

Haven't read it in ages tbh, they started paywalling everything. On gender I remember they had a few decent pieces by Alison O'Connor but I think that was about it, and they carried out and out nonsense on the genderist side including the Louise O'Neill piece that characterised Rowling's discussion of domestic abuse as playing "Oppression Olympics".

Yet again the comments accurately call out the totalitarian bullying of the T. Depressing as it is, the more unhinged and authoritarian these instances are, the more they confirm to society that transactivism is genuinely harmful and anti democratic. Things like this will bring this shitshow to an end as step by step, organisations steadily remove the unstable bullies and their toxic influence.

And I'll bet there's been a spike in book sales for JB.

Not sure @DeanElderberry . You'd expect it to be more objective, if only because it used to be the Cork Examiner and probably still has a largely small C conservative readership?

excellent description of where we are.

Already is in this household! The Echo Chamber is so funny. Of course it is a fantasmagoria and the characters are more ludicrous than the real denizens of London media land. But only slightly....