John Boyne says LGBTQ+ fiction prize backlash brought him ‘close to the edge’

Gender-critical novelist urges writers to re-enter prize they boycotted and may ask judges not to shortlist his novella

The gender-critical Irish novelist John Boyne has said he has been brought “very close to the edge” by the backlash to his inclusion on the longlist for a literary prize for LGBTQ+ authors.

Ten authors and two judges withdrew from the Polari prize and more than 800 writers and publishing industry workers signed a petition calling on Polari to remove Boyne’s novella Earth from its longlist.

In his first response to the row, Boyne urged new writers boycotting the prize to re-enter the award, saying they were either misguided or had been bullied or intimidated into withdrawing.

Boyne, who describes himself as a Terf – the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist – said that if the writers did re-enter the list, he would ask the judges not to consider Earth for the shortlist.