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

Since its launch in 2011, the UK's Polari Prize has become one of the most prestigious LGBQT+ 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to Boyne and his novel "Earth" being longlisted for this year's Polari Prize, multiple nominees and judges have withdrawn their participation in the annual event.

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