University College Dublin's Literary & Historical Society has withdrawn an offer of its James Joyce Award to Irish novelist John Boyne after a controversy over his public comments on trans rights and a wider dispute around the Polari Prize.
The society said it had put the award "on hold" and later rescinded the offer following a petition signed by more than 800 authors objecting to Boyne's nomination for an accolade connected to LGBT writing. The list that prompted the petition was published Aug. 6.
The James Joyce Award had been offered to Boyne in recognition of his novel Earth, which the society said dealt with themes including sexual assault and homophobia and demonstrated "authenticity" and a willingness to face "uncomfortable truth with courage." Boyne, 54, who is best known for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, has publicly supported the author J.K. Rowling and her criticism of aspects of gender ideology, remarks that drew the petition against his Polari Prize nomination and led to calls for the society to withdraw the offer.
Boyne shared correspondence from the student-run society and said he was baffled by the reversal. He said messages from him and his agents were ignored until, "under threat of legal action, they finally deigned to respond, simply informing me that they were withdrawing the award." He described the society's actions as "cowardice," adding that "Awards are ultimately meaningless. The books matter. Readers matter."
The Literary & Historical Society issued a statement saying it "condemn[s] all forms of transphobia" and announced a governance and management review. The statement said the society would work to increase representation of trans and gender non-conforming judges on panels and would consider how to balance creating "inclusive and supportive spaces in a world hostile to our trans community" with commitments to free speech.
Campaign group Seen In Publishing criticized the society's decision to award Boyne and then rescind it, calling the reversal "shocking and cowardly" and describing it as "another example of literary cancel culture." Supporters of the society's move argued that rescinding the award responded to concerns about the inclusion of someone who had publicly criticised trans identities in platforms connected to LGBTQ+ literary recognition.
The James Joyce Award is presented by the student-run society and not by University College Dublin as an institution. Previous winners include a range of literary and public figures, among them Salman Rushdie, J.K. Rowling and Noam Chomsky, and nonliterary recipients such as Nancy Pelosi and Gary Lineker.
The dispute follows a broader, ongoing debate in the literary and publishing communities over how to reconcile freedom of expression with efforts to protect marginalized groups from exclusion and harm. The Polari Prize controversy that triggered the petition is part of similar debates on how prizes and nominations are evaluated when nominees' public statements intersect with community protections and representation.
The society said it would undertake steps to review its governance and judge selection processes and examine how to make its events and awards processes more representative. The novelist has said he will not let the loss of a plaque affect his work, reiterating that his focus remains on his readers and his books.
University College Dublin and the Literary & Historical Society did not immediately respond to further requests for comment beyond the statement the society issued.