Many LGBTQ+ people and allies have criticised the BBC for including JK Rowling’s controversial essay, Reasons for speaking out on sex and gender issues, on its good writing prize list.
The broadcaster’s Russell Prize list is compiled by BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan who named it after Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell, Rajan said it seeks to “celebrate journalism and writing that honours the intellectual and moral virtues Russell’s prose exemplified.”In Rowling’s essay, she said she had a “deep concern about transgender activism”, and continued to compare being trans to having a mental illness.