John Boyne

John Boyne (born in Dublin in 1971) is an Irish novelist who writes in English. He is best known for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a book that has reached an unusually wide readership of both children and adults across many countries and languages.

Boyne grew up in Dublin, where he still lives. He studied English at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 1993, and later completed an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, where he studied under Malcolm Bradbury. Before devoting himself fully to fiction, he worked as a journalist and literary critic, writing for The Irish Times and The Guardian. His first short story appeared in print, and in 1993 a story of his was shortlisted for the Hennessy Literary Award.

His output is varied, moving between historical fiction, more intimate narratives and novels for younger readers. He writes in a restrained style that leaves room for the reader to consider what his characters feel but do not say. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006), told through the eyes of a child whose father works at a concentration camp, remains his most famous title, and Mark Herman adapted it into a film in 2008. Other important novels include The Thief of Time (2000) and A History of Loneliness (2014).

His legacy rests largely on the reach of his books. The 2006 novel has been translated into dozens of languages, including Braille, and has won awards in several countries. In recent years his public comments on gender have sparked heated debate in literary circles, drawing his work into discussions that extend well beyond fiction.