Juno Dawson


Juno Dawson is a British writer of young adult fiction and non-fiction, including This Book is Gay, Margot & Me, and The Gender Games.

Life and career

Juno Dawson was born and raised in West Yorkshire. After graduating from university, she worked as a primary school teacher and later became a PSHE co-ordinator. While working as a teacher, she began writing books aimed at young adults until she became successful enough to leave her job. She wrote a number of young adult fiction books including Hollow Pike and Say Her Name. Her books often feature LGBT people, and Dawson has advocated for other books to feature more prominent LGBT characters.
In 2014, Dawson wrote This Book is Gay, a non-fiction book aiming to be a "manual to all areas of life as an LGBT person." A petition was started to remove the book from a public library in Wasilla, Alaska, with a number of residents criticising the library for stocking it, citing the profanity and sexually explicit text. Dawson responded by saying that the event highlighted how "there is still such small-mindedness and hatred left to contend with." In the same year, she was a recipient of the Queen of Teen award.
In 2015, Dawson came out as a transgender woman, having begun her journey of transitioning 18 months prior, and beginning hormonal transition in early 2016. She was signed to write a column in Glamour magazine documenting her experience of transitioning. She represents the LGBT charity Stonewall as a School Role Model. Dawson sat on the judging panel for the 2016 BBC Young Writers' Award.
In 2017, Dawson published The Gender Games, her first book aimed at adults, discussing themes of gender as well as her own life experiences. Television rights to the book were acquired in 2018 by SunnyMarch, the production company founded by Benedict Cumberbatch.
In 2018, it was announced that Dawson would be writing a novel called The Good Doctor, one of the first Doctor Who novels to feature the Thirteenth Doctor as played by Jodie Whittaker, released in October. She also contributed audio plays for the Big Finish Torchwood range.

Awards

In 2014 Dawson won the 'Queen of Teen' award, a biennial prize for young adult fiction writers.

Works