61 John Boyne Facts: Books, Education, Childhood And Much More

John Boyne is a contemporary Irish novelist who writes for younger readers as well as adult readers.

John Boyne is best known for authoring the acclaimed children’s book named ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ which was released in the year 2006. To date, he has written more than eleven novels for adults and six novels for younger readers.

John Boyne initially wrote short stories at the beginning of his career. He debuted his writing career with the story ‘ The Entertainments Jar’ which was shortlisted later that year for the Hennessy Literary Awards.

Since then, John Boyne has published 13 adult novels, six children’s books, and a collection of short stories. The genre of his works is literary fiction. 'The Magicians Nephew' by C.S Lewis inspired him to begin writing.

Read on for some interesting John Boyne facts regarding his various novels and books.

Fun Facts About John Boyne

John Boyne’s first published short story was immediately nominated for a Hennessy Literary Award, as well as published in the Sunday Tribune in 1993.

John Boyne had been awarded the Irish Book Award three times. John Boyne has also been awarded the Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize in Germany.

As of today, John Boyne’s books have been translated into 54 languages. 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' reached the New York Times no. 1 Bestseller List. This novel has also been adapted for a feature film released in 2008.

'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' also went on to be adapted into ballet, as well as an opera performance.

Boyne has written over 15 novels for adults and young adults and one short story collection.

'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' is also John Boyne’s bestselling novel, which has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide.

He wrote about the Second World War because he was interested about the effect it had on children.

In the month of January 2020, the book was referred to as being inaccurate by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The author and the museum engaged in an online argument on the social media platform Twitter.

The museum stated that the book must be avoided by all individuals promoting accurate understanding of the Holocaust, one of the most horrific incidents in the history of humanity. While replying to this comment from the museum, Boyne stated that the criticism put forth by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum features inaccurate information.

Despite all the controversies around the novel, 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' continues to be rated as one of the best novels by John Boyne.

Facts About John Boyne's Books

John Boyne writes for adults as well as young readers like children, as well as young adults. So far, he has published 13 adult novels, six children’s books, and a collection of short stories. His first novel was published in 2000 under the title ‘The Thief of Time’.

The book tells the story of a man who somehow does not age at all and how that affects his life as the story continues to span through the 18th to 20th century, capturing the events of the French Revolution, as well as the entertainment industry of the USA in the '20s.

John Boyce published his most acclaimed masterpiece, the children’s book, 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' in 2006, which has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide.

It is not a very suitable read for very young children as it addresses the topic of the Holocaust, which is one of the darkest events of our world’s history.

The book tells us the story of a young boy who becomes the victim of the brutal war, losing his innocence during the journey as it reaches its tragic end. Although the book is said to be a children’s book, it makes a very dark story for adults and young adults.

John Boyne has also published various adult books like 'The Heart’s Invisible Fury' and 'A Ladder To The Sky'.

Here is one fun fact about the mistake made by John Boyne in one of his recent novels, 'A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom'.

The events in the novel take place in the year 1 AD where a section lists the various ingredients used by a seamstress for creating dyes, but the ingredients mentioned therein were purely fictional as they had been taken from the 2017 videogame 'The Legend of the Zelda'.

Some of the ingredients mentioned therein were 'the tail of the red lizalfos' and the 'silent princess' flower.

Facts About John Boyne's Education

John Boyne had developed an interest in writing at a very early age. Hence, he majored in English Literature from the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

After that, he studied for master's degree in creative writing at the prestigious institution in The University of East Anglia, situated in Norwich, England. While John Boyne was at University, he received the Curtis Brown Prize, a special award designated for students who show excellent talent in the creative writing program.

Facts About John Boyne's Childhood

John Boyne was born on April 30, 1971, in Dublin, Ireland. He continues to still reside in Dublin and has an established career in Ireland as a published author.

John Boyne has mentioned that since a very young age, he loved to read famous literary works like 'Robinson Crusoe', 'Treasure Island', 'The Count of Monte Cristo', which were his major influences while growing up and shaped his dream of being a writer.

He developed a keen interest in writing at a very young age of twelve and chose his career accordingly in order to support his dreams and passion.