My Twitter feed is abuzz at the moment because international best-selling YA author, James Dawson, has just come out as trans. Reading the excellent interview on Buzzfeed (well done, Patrick Strudwick), I recognize of lot of the things Dawson says about himself. I wish him the very best of luck on the journey he had just begun.

Dawson explains in the interview that he’s keeping his male name and pronouns for now. He’s only just had his first interview at a gender clinic and there’s a long way to go before he’ll be happy presenting in public as female. However, he’s made the announcement now because, as a very high profile writer, he has a full diary of public engagements stretching well into next year. People will notice the changes as hormones start to work their magic. That’s a really tough gig.

However, looking at Dawson’s Twitter feed, it is just full of people from the YA community making happy, supportive comments. I got quite teary-eyed reading it all. Doubtless the media will soon be full of stories about the threat to Britain’s children, but many people will be far more horrified by that than anything Dawson could do. Slowly but surely, the world is becoming a better place.