Irish writer John Boyne was BOTD in 1971. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended Trinity College Dublin, before studying creative writing at the University of East Anglia. His first novel, The Thief of Time, was published in 2000. He achieved international success with his 2006 young adult novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a fable about the friendship between the son of the commandant of Auschwitz and a Jewish child prisoner. Selling over 11 million copies worldwide and translated into 53 languages, it was adapted into a film in 2008, a ballet in 2017 and an opera in 2023. His other notable works include 2017’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies, a historical novel about the changing fortunes of gay men from World War Two to the present day. He has since spoken publicly about his struggles with depression, drug and alcohol abuse, a suicide attempt following the end of his marriage, and his sexual abuse as a child by a lay teacher. His 2019 young adult novel My Brother’s Name Is Jessica, about a boy experiencing his sibling’s gender transition, was highly controversial, provoking criticisms that Boyne had misgendered and decentred the novel’s trans character. Boyne later referred to himself as a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), but defended his right to freedom of artistic expression. In 2025, he was longlisted for the Polari Prize, a British LGBTQ writing award, for his novella Earth. Two of the prize’s judges and ten of his fellow nominees subsequently withdrew from the prize in protest, with widespread calls for Boyne to be removed from the shortlist. Openly gay since forever, Boyne was in an 14-year relationship with Brendan O’Connor, entering into a civil union in 2009, but ending in divorce in 2018. He lives in Dublin; his current relationship status is unknown.