John Boyne

Last updated

John Boyne
John Boyne in Dublin (cropped).JPG
Boyne in 2010
Born (1971-04-30) 30 April 1971 (age 53)
Dublin, Ireland
Period2000–present
GenreLiterary fiction
Notable works The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006)
The Absolutist (2011)
Website
johnboyne.com

John Boyne (born 30 April 1971) is an Irish novelist. [1] He is the author of sixteen novels for adults, six novels for younger readers, two novellas and one collection of short stories. His novels are published in over 50 languages. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was adapted into a 2008 film of the same name.

Contents

Biography

Boyne was born in Dublin, Ireland, where he still lives. His first short story was published by the Sunday Tribune and in 1993 was shortlisted for a Hennessy Literary Award. [2] [3] His B.A. degree is from Trinity College Dublin in English in 1993, [4] [5] and he subsequently obtained an MA degree from the University of East Anglia. In 2015 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of East Anglia. He chaired the jury for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize. [6]

Boyne is gay, and has spoken about the difficulties he encountered growing up gay in Catholic Ireland. [7] [8] [9] He has spoken of suffering abuse in Terenure College as a student there. [10]

He regards John Banville as "the world's greatest living writer". [11]

In May 2024, Boyne was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs . [12]

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was published in 2006. The book has sold over seven million copies worldwide. [13] A Heyday/Miramax film adaptation, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , was shot in Budapest in mid-2007 and released in late 2008. Directed by Mark Herman, the film stars Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Rupert Friend and Sheila Hancock. In January 2020, the book was cited by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, in a set of back and forth tweets between the museum and the author, as a book that should be avoided by those promoting accurate understanding of the Holocaust. [14] In response, Boyne suggested that the museum's criticism contained inaccurate information. [15]

My Brother's Name Is Jessica

Boyne's 2019 book My Brother's Name Is Jessica, about a young boy coming to terms with his older sibling coming out as a trans girl, was criticised over its portrayal of transgender topics and for misgendering people. In an article in The Irish Times promoting the book, Boyne explained that he was inspired to write it by a transgender friend of his, and had spoken to gender-identity professionals and "several trans people" to ensure he portrayed the book's subject matter authentically. However, he received further criticism for stating in the article that "I reject the word 'cis'... I don't consider myself a cis man; I consider myself a man." He added that "while I will happily employ any term that a person feels best defines them... I reject the notion that someone can force an unwanted term on to another". [16] [17]

Boyne deleted his Twitter account, citing social media harassment, though he would later rejoin the site. [18] [19] [15] Some writers have supported him. [20] [21] In 2020, comedian and writer Aidan Comerford, who had repeatedly accused Boyne of transphobia, issued an apology via Twitter. Comerford admitted that his tweets about Boyne "were relentless harassment" that had caused Boyne "great distress". Boyne responded by saying: "I am grateful for Aidan Comerford's apologies and retractions and, outside of that, I have no further comment." [22]

He alluded to the backlash he received over the book again in a newspaper column in 2021. Although Boyne did not mention Comerford by name, he referenced someone who "admitted that he'd been engaged in a determined campaign of 'relentless harassment'", and then "slithered back to his subterranean cavern to lick his wounds". [23]

Selected works

Novels

Novels for younger readers

Novellas

Short story collections

Awards

Other Awards:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booker Prize</span> British literary award established in 1969

The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, which was published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland. The winner of the Booker Prize receives £50,000, as well as international publicity that usually leads to a significant sales boost. When the prize was created, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014, eligibility was widened to any English-language novel—a change that proved controversial.

The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1954), who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career (1901). She bequeathed her estate to fund this award. As of 2016, the award is valued at A$60,000.

Niall Williams is an Irish writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colm Tóibín</span> Irish novelist and writer (born 1955)

Colm Tóibín is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet.

Sebastian Barry is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2018–2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marina Endicott</span> Canadian writer

Marina Endicott is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Her novel Good to a Fault won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Canada and the Caribbean and was a finalist for the Giller Prize. Her next, The Little Shadows, was longlisted for the Giller Prize and shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award. Close to Hugh was longlisted for the Giller Prize and named one of CBC's Best Books of 2015. The Difference won the City of Edmonton Robert Kroetsch Prize. It was published in the US by W. W. Norton as The Voyage of the Morning Light in June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Haslett</span> American writer and journalist (born 1970)

Adam Haslett is an American fiction writer and journalist. His debut short story collection, You Are Not a Stranger Here, and his second novel, Imagine Me Gone, were both finalists for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. He has been awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the American Academy in Berlin. In 2017, he won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

<i>The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas</i> 2006 novel by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 historical fiction novel by Irish novelist John Boyne. The plot concerns a German boy named Bruno whose father is the commandant of Auschwitz and Bruno's friendship with a Jewish detainee named Shmuel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costa Book Awards</span> Former annual literary awards

The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then a brewery and owner of pub-restaurant chains, it was renamed when Costa Coffee, then a subsidiary of Whitbread, took over sponsorship. The companion Costa Short Story Award was established in 2012. Costa Coffee was purchased by the Coca-Cola Company in 2018. The awards were abruptly terminated in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Jeffers</span> Australian writer and illustrator

Oliver Brendan Jeffers is an Australian-born Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer. He went to the integrated secondary school Hazelwood College, then graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001. He relocated back to Northern Ireland in the early 2020s after a spell living and working in Brooklyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian McKinty</span> Irish crime novelist and critic

Adrian McKinty is a Northern Irish writer of crime and mystery novels and young adult fiction, best known for his 2020 award-winning thriller, The Chain, and the Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. He is a winner of the Edgar Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Macavity Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Barry Award, the Audie Award, the Anthony Award and the International Thriller Writers Award. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

<i>The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas</i> (film) 2008 historical drama film by Mark Heyman

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 Holocaust historical drama film written and directed by Mark Herman. It is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by John Boyne. Set in Nazi-occupied Poland, the film follows the son of a Schutzstaffel officer who befriends a Jewish prisoner of his age.

Kevin Barry is an Irish writer. He is the author of three collections of short stories and three novels. City of Bohane (2011) was the winner of the 2013 International Dublin Literary Award. Beatlebone (2015) won the 2015 Goldsmiths Prize and is one of seven books by Irish authors nominated for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award, the world's most valuable annual literary fiction prize for books published in English. His 2019 novel Night Boat to Tangier was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Barry is also an editor of Winter Papers, an arts and culture annual.

Donal Ryan is an Irish writer. He has published seven novels and one short story collection. In 2016, novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry described Ryan in The Guardian as "the king of the new wave of Irish writers". All of his novels have been number one bestsellers in Ireland.

Anna Ciddor is an Australian author and illustrator.

Yewande Omotoso is a South African-based novelist, architect and designer, who was born in Barbados and grew up in Nigeria. She currently lives in Johannesburg. Her two published novels have earned her considerable attention, including winning the South African Literary Award for First-Time Published Author, being shortlisted for the South African Sunday Times Fiction Prize, the M-Net Literary Awards 2012, and the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature, and being longlisted for the 2017 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction. She is the daughter of Nigerian writer Kole Omotoso, and the sister of filmmaker Akin Omotoso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent Dalton</span> Australian journalist and literary fiction author

Trent Dalton is an Australian novelist and journalist. He is best known for his 2018 semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe.

<i>Lost Children Archive</i> 2019 novel by Valeria Luiselli

Lost Children Archive is a 2019 novel by writer Valeria Luiselli. Luiselli was in part inspired by the ongoing American policy of separating children from their parents at the Mexico–United States border. The novel is the first book Luiselli wrote in English.

Nicola Pierce is an Irish writer and ghost writer.

<i>The Thing About December</i> 2013 novel by Donal Ryan

The Thing About December is a social novel written by the Irish novelist Donal Ryan. It was first published in 2013 by The Lilliput Press in Ireland. It was published in the US in 2014 by Steerforth Press. It was shortlisted for the Irish Book Award for the Novel of the Year and longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ O Conghaile, Pól (23 October 2010). "Wild Child of a Different Stripe". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Philip Casey, "Boyne, John" Archived 2017-05-05 at the Wayback Machine , Irish Writers Online.
  3. ↑ "10 Interesting John Boyne Facts", My Interesting facts, 6 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Sherlock, D.J.M. (2006). Trinity College Record Volume 2006. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin Press. ISBN   1-871408-07-5.
  5. ↑ "Telling tales about Trinity College in the 90s". The Irish Times . 19 December 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Medley, Mark (14 January 2015). "The Giller Prize expands its jury to five people". The Globe and Mail.
  7. ↑ Boyne, John (19 July 2017). "At Swim, Two Boys Is a Great Irish Novel, a Gay Love Story but So Much More". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 February 2019. As a young gay man behind a bookshop counter, I watched the people who bought At Swim, Two Boys—and there were a lot of them—and used it as a tool for flirtation. A reprint of John Boyne's introduction to At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill.
  8. ↑ Boyne, John (22 February 2018). "John Boyne on Homosexuality and Changing Attitudes". WHSmith. Retrieved 1 February 2019. [...]not because I had any issue with being gay[...]
  9. ↑ Boyne, John (7 November 2014). "John Boyne: 'The Catholic priesthood blighted my youth and the youth of people like me'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 February 2019. It's not easy to be a young, gay teenager[...]
  10. ↑ Boyne, John (20 February 2021). "John Boyne: I was abused at Terenure College, but not by John McClean". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  11. ↑ Boyne, John (11 October 2019). "John Banville... the world's greatest living writer, is someone who has a legitimate chance of winning the Nobel Prize". Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "Desert Island Discs - John Boyne, writer". BBC Online . Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  13. ↑ McClements, Freya (5 December 2016). "Is making a living just from writing books a literary fiction?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. ↑ McGreevy, Ronan (5 January 2020). "Avoid John Boyne's Holocaust novel, Auschwitz Museum advises". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  15. 1 2 Flood, Alison (7 January 2020). "The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas author defends work from criticism by Auschwitz memorial". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  16. ↑ Boyne, John (13 April 2019). "John Boyne: Why I support trans rights but reject the word 'cis'". The Irish Times. I reject the word "cis" ... I don't consider myself a cis man; I consider myself a man.
  17. ↑ Gaden Gilmartin, Cassia (16 April 2019). "Irish Author John Boyne Faces Backlash From Trans Activists Over New Novel". Gay Community News.
  18. ↑ Lynch, Donal (24 April 2018). "'I was warned not to go out alone' - author John Boyne in gender-label row". Irish Independent .
  19. ↑ O'Connor, Amy (16 April 2019). "John Boyne deletes Twitter account after trans article backlash". The Irish Times.
  20. ↑ Rickets, Chris (20 April 2019). "John Boyne flying flag for trans people even if he is holding it upside down". The Irish Times.
  21. ↑ Whelan, Ella (25 April 2019). "John Boyne is a man, not a 'cis' man". spiked.
  22. ↑ Barter, Pavel (19 July 2020). "Battle of the Boyne ends with novelist thankful for Aidan Comerford apology– TheTimes.co.uk". Sunday Times . Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  23. ↑ Boyne, John (13 August 2021). "John Boyne: 'Only a fool or an incurable optimist would think you can solve the world's problems in 280 characters'". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  24. ↑ Hamilton, Sheila. "A Ladder to the Sky Reviewed". New York Journal of Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.