AN LGBT+ LITERATURE prize has paused the award this year after most longlisted authors pulled out over the inclusion of John Boyne.

The Polari Prize apologised for longlisting Boyne, who has publicly aligned himself with gender critical activist JK Rowling and has described himself as a ‘terf’.

Terf is an acronym for the phrase “trans exclusionary radical feminist”. In essence, it is someone who is campaigning for feminist ideals whilst excluding transgender women.

Due to Boyne’s in the longlist for the Polari Prize, last year’s first prize winner Nicola Dinan, author of Bellies, resigned from the judging panel, and a number of entrants pulled out.

In a statement today, the organisation said it condemns transphobia.

“What was supposed to be a celebration of exceptional LGBTQ+ literature has been overshadowed by hurt and anger, which has been painful and distressing for all concerned and we apologise to everyone who has been affected,” it said.

In the last fortnight, stakeholders as well as authors and judges discussed the “ramifications” of recognising Boyne’s work and what could be learned from it.

Polari said it is ‘pausing’ this year’s competition and will use the time to increase the number of trans people on its judging panel. It said it’ll also undertake a “governance and management review”.

“We will also explore discussions about the tensions between the claims of freedom of expression and the need to create inclusive and supportive spaces in a world hostile to our trans community members and out community at large,” they said.

Over 800 writers and workers in the publishing industry signed a statement asking Polari to remove Boyne.

The letter said: “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.”

“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.”

The authors said his inclusion was “inexcusable” due to “rising anti-trans hatred and systematic exclusion of trans people from public life in the UK and across the world”.

In his response, published on X, Boyne confirmed he will not withdraw from the competition, after what he described as “bullying”.

The author said he “came very close to the edge” due to “endless harassment” he received over the issue.