Literary scandals resemble orgies: entertaining for participants but distasteful to bystanders. A Polari Prize longlist included Earth, the second of the Elements quartet, triggering controversy. Three days after publication a phone call reported that a transwoman judge for the First Novel Prize had resigned in protest over the inclusion. Most of the twelve longlisted writers then issued statements supporting the jurist's departure. The controversy escalated and resulted in the Polari Prize being abandoned for the year. The situation juxtaposed claims of free speech with actions that led to withdrawal and cancellation, highlighting tensions within literary and LGBT award communities.
My nomination for the Polari Prize led to this year's award being abandoned entirely, yet we are supposed to believe in free speech
Literary scandals are a little like orgies: great fun for everyone involved, but rather distasteful to anyone watching from the outside. I found myself at the centre of one such bacchanal over the last week when the Polari Prize, a set of awards given to LGBT authors, published their longlist, and Earth, the second of my Elem­ents quartet, was nominated.
Strangely enough, I didn't even know until three days later when I received a phone call informing me that a transwoman judge for the First Novel Prize had stepped down in protest at my inclusion. Shortly afterwards, most of the 12 writers longlisted for that award issued statements following the jurist out the door.
Collection
[
|
...
]