An Open Letter of Solidarity With the Trans Community from UK Writers

We’ve received this powerful message from poet and activist Kayla Martell Feldman, co-author of a letter that now holds over 1,700 signatures—including many from the Verve Poetry Press family. It is a call to solidarity, visibility, and action in support of trans and non-binary people, especially within our creative communities.

As a press and platform that has published, celebrated, and stood beside trans and non-binary poets through our books, events, and anthologies, we are sharing this letter with our wider community in the hope that more voices will add their names to the growing call for change.

Please read the full letter below, and consider signing in solidarity:

An Open Letter of Solidarity With the Trans Community from UK Writers

The UK Supreme Court ruling of 16th April 2025 was the result of a coordinated and privately funded attack on the human rights and dignity of trans and non-binary people in the UK. We call upon our industry to meet this moment with bravery and solidarity.

As writers, the undersigned stand in solidarity with the trans community. The signatories of this letter attest to the fact that writers with a bioessentialist view of womanhood and a binary view of sex and gender are in the minority. We call on our industries - theatre, film, TV, radio, literature and journalism - to do the same. 

As outlined by the Good Law Project, this Supreme Court hearing took place on shaky legal ground and without the involvement of any trans voices; they also noted that had any trans organisations been involved, they would likely have been faced with harassment and threats.

The UK has become an increasingly hostile place for trans and non-binary people, with a 186% increase in hate crimes against trans people in the last five years. We are deeply concerned that this ruling will embolden a bigoted but powerful minority in their harassment of trans and non-binary people and attempts to hound gender non-conforming people out of public spaces. This will have consequences not just for trans people but for anyone who deviates from gender norms, making society less safe for everyone.

This Supreme Court ruling contributes to the erosion of the rights of marginalised LGBTQ+ communities globally. This has been seen recently in Uganda, Hungary and the US, to name only a few examples. Transparency International UK, which aims to fight corruption worldwide, warned two months ago about the impact of private donors’ influence in British politics, “with the US showing what could happen here if money in politics is left unchecked”. 

The recent nomination lists for the Olivier Awards, the Booker Prize, and the T.S. Eliot Prize demonstrate the power of stories that challenge bigotry and intolerance, with LGBTQ+ writers and artists making vital contributions to the broad landscape of arts and culture, public discourse, and the economy. Cultural conversations are hugely important to how people are perceived and treated in society, and it is paramount that trans visibility, representation and protection be an ongoing and sustained commitment for all arts organisations going forward, with quantifiable efforts to promote trans voices and stories.

We applaud Equity’s swift and emphatic response to the ruling, and the specificity of their next steps of active support for their trans and non-binary members, and we call upon others to join them. We urge other unions, theatres, agencies, publishers, and news outlets to sign this letter and make their own statements of how they will actively support their trans and non-binary staff, contractors, and service users. Total Current Signatures: 1,752

Click here to add your name (please note this list is updated manually) LINKS: www.thestage.co.uk/news/michaela-coel-and-james-graham-demand-active-support-for-transgender-people