Juno Dawson (born 10 July 1981) is an English author of

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

and non-fiction. Dawson's notable works include '' This Book Is Gay'', ''Mind Your Head'', ''Margot & Me'', ''The Gender Games'', ''Clean'', ''Meat Market'', and the series ''Her Majesty's Royal Coven''.

Life and career

Dawson was born at Bradford Royal Infirmary, West Yorkshire. Dawson lived in

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is sited on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The town had a population of 18,040 at the United Kingdom ...

and was educated at Bingley Grammar School. After graduating from

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

, she worked as a primary school teacher and later became a PSHE co-ordinator. While a teacher, she wrote books aimed at young adults and became sufficiently successful to leave her teaching job. She wrote a number of young adult fiction books including ''Hollow Pike'' and ''Say Her Name''. Her books often feature

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

people, and Dawson has advocated for other books to feature more prominent LGBT characters. In 2014, Dawson received the Queen of Teen award. In 2015, Dawson came out as a

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

woman, having started transitioning 18 months earlier. She began hormonal transition in early 2016. She was signed to write a column in '' Glamour'' magazine documenting her transitioning experience. She represents the LGBT charity Stonewall as a School Role Model. Dawson was a member of the judging panel for the 2016 BBC Young Writers' Award. In 2018, Dawson wrote the

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

spin-off podcast ''Doctor Who: Redacted'', which launched in April 2022. She has also contributed audio plays for the Big Finish

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

range. Dawson was intended to write an episode for the second series of ''

Class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

'', but the show was cancelled. In 2019, Dawson started the ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' podcast "So I Got To Thinking". She also has small acting roles in '' I May Destroy You'' and ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

''. In January 2025, it was announced that Dawson had joined the writing team of the fifteenth series of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', making her the series' first openly transgender writer.

Selected texts

''This Book Is Gay'' (2014)

''This Book Is Gay'', illustrated by Spike Gerrell, was first published in the UK in September 2014 and in the US in June 2015. The book is a "manual to all areas of life as an LGBT person" and "is meant to serve as a guidebook for young people discovering their sexual identity and how to navigate those uncomfortable waters." ''This Book is Gay'' has faced controversy since its publication. In November 2014, residents of

Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States, and the List of cities in Alaska, fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanus ...

, petitioned to remove it from a public library, with a number of residents objecting to its profanity and sexually explicit content. Dawson responded by saying the event highlighted how "there is still such small-mindedness and hatred left to contend with." In 2022, it was listed among 52 books banned by the

Alpine School District Alpine School District. The district was founded in 1915, and includes all grades from kindergarten through high school (K-12). As of 2018, there were 58 elementary schools, 14 junior high schools, 11 high schools, and 9 special purpose sch ...

following the implementation of Utah law H.B. 374, "Sensitive Materials In Schools." Ultimately, it tied for the tenth-most banned and challenged books in the United States that year, according to the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

''The Gender Games'' (2017)

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 A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...

founded by

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

''The Good Doctor'' (2018)

In early 2018, it was announced Dawson would write ''The Good Doctor'', one of the first ''

'' novels to feature the

Thirteenth Doctor The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She is played by Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, in three series, five specials and a ...

as played by

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

. The novel was released in October 2018.

Awards

In 2014 Dawson won the 'Queen of Teen' award, a biennial prize (discontinued in 2016) for young adult fiction writers. Her novel ''Meat Market'' won the 2020 YA Book Prize. Dawson's novel ''Her Majesty's Royal Coven'' won the 2022 Books Are My Bag Readers' Award for Fiction.

Works

Novels

* ''Hollow Pike'' (2012) * ''Cruel Summer'' (2013) * ''Say Her Name'' (2014) * ''Under My Skin'' (2015) * ''All of the Above'' (2015) * ''Spot the Difference'' - written for

World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright ...

(2016) * ''Margot & Me'' (2017) * ''Grave Matter'' (2017) * ''Doctor Who: The Good Doctor'' (2018) * ''Proud'' (2019, editor) * ''Stay Another Day'' (2021)

London Trilogy

* ''Clean'' (2018) * ''Meat Market'' (2019) * ''Wonderland'' (2020)

Her Majesty's Royal Coven Series

* ''Her Majesty’s Royal Coven'' (2022) * ''The Shadow Cabinet'' (2023) * ''Queen B'' (2024) * ''Human Rites'' (2025)

Non-fiction books

* ''Being a Boy'' (2013) * ''This Book Is Gay'' (2014) * ''Mind Your Head'' (2016) * ''The Gender Games'' (2017) * ''What is Gender? How Does it Define Us? and Other Big Questions'' (2017) * ''What's The T?'' (2021)

Audio dramas

* ''Torchwood: The Dollhouse'' (2016) * ''Torchwood: Orr'' (2017) * ''Doctor Who: Redacted'' (2022–2023)

Television

* ''

'': " The Interstellar Song Contest" (2025)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Juno 1981 births Living people 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English women writers Alumni of Bangor University British writers of young adult literature English science fiction writers English transgender women English transgender actors English transgender writers LGBTQ people from Yorkshire People educated at Bingley Grammar School Actors from Bingley Transgender actresses Transgender rights activists Transgender women writers English women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers of Doctor Who novels Actresses from West Yorkshire Transgender science fiction writers