Skip to content

Gillian Philip / “Erin Hunter” vs. transgender people

Gillian Philip is a Scots author and anti-transgender activist. Philip is one of several authors who publish under the collective pseudonym “Erin Hunter.”

Philip faced public pushback after expressing support for anti-trans extremist J.K. Rowling. Philip’s contract with book packaging firm Working Partners and publisher HarperCollins ended in 2020.

Background

Gillian Philip was born on July 2, 1964 in Glasgow, Scotland. Philip’s family moved to Aberdeen in 1975. Philip later studied at university. After undertaking a variety of jobs in the 1980s and 1990s, Philip married in 1989 and lived in Barbados for twelve years. During that time Philip began writing seriously. In 2001 Philip and twin children returned to Scotland, and Philip shifted to full-time writing.

Anti-trans activism

Philip signed the 2020 Sunday Times open letter supporting J.K. Rowling.

Philip is a contributor to Spiked oand is n the writers’ advisory council for the anti-trans Free Speech Union.

Philip signed the 2024 UK Public Inquiry request demanding a public inquiry into transgender healthcare.

Philip has appeared on a number of anti-trans shows, including Women’s Rights Network podcast and The Mess We’re In by Graham Linehan.

Philip appeared on a 2025 Battle of Ideas panel titled Sex Realism and the New Book Burnings with Meghan Murphy, Matilda Gosling, Jenny Holland, and Suzanne Moore, moderated by Timandra Harkness.

Lawsuit

In 2022, Philip filed a discrimination claim under the UK’s Equality Act 2010 over being dismissed for anti-transgender beliefs. Free Speech Union held a fundraiser for Philip. In a preliminary hearing in June 2022, an Employment Tribunal decided that Philip’s claim could proceed despite a delay in filing due to personal circumstances (death of Philip’s spouse). The tribunal also ruled that Philip was not a “worker” under the relevant UK employment law definitions, meaning Philip could not bring a discrimination claim in the first place. Philip appealed the tribunal’s ruling on Philip’s “worker” status to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. In April 2024 the EAT upheld the earlier decision.

References

Redmond, Adele (April 10, 2024). Author ‘Blacklisted’ For Anti-Trans Views Loses Status Appeal. Law360 https://www.law360.com/articles/1823781

Parsons, Vic (July 7, 2020). Bestselling children’s author dropped after throwing her support behind JK Rowling amid ‘transphobia’ row. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2020/07/07/gillian-philip-publisher-sacked-warrior-cats-author-jk-rowling-harpercollins-uk-transphobia/

Anti-trans coverage

Bevan, Tom; Roberts, Lizzie (September 20, 2023). JK Rowling trans row author launches new legal battle. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/jk-rowling-trans-row-author-launches-new-legal-battle-d5f63dr5r

Somerville, Ewan (September 19, 2023). Author who says she was fired for backing JK Rowling’s trans views launches legal appeal. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/19/gillian-philip-jk-rowling-author-erin-hunter-books-sacked/

Selected writing by Philip

Philip, Gillian (April 22, 2024). Will the trans activists who cancelled me ever apologise? Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/04/22/will-the-trans-activists-who-cancelled-me-ever-apologise/

Media

Bttle of Ideas with Gillian Philip (January 14, 2025). Tyranny in the publishing world | Gillian Philip | Battle of Ideas 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiQrb0g-sjE

Women’s Rights Network with Rachel Rooney, “Looby Lou,” and Gillian Philip (October 4, 2023). What Gillian Philip Did Next [AUDIO PODCAST]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_SdttAkGq0

The Mess We’re In with Graham Linehan, “Arty Morty,” Helen Staniland, and Gillian Philip (February 15, 2023).137: SPECIAL MESS: F**k around and find out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwhPXrwPYQs

Forth Valley Feminists (February 10, 2023). FVF Women’s Festival 2023 – Gillian Philip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtuyAZx7TLU

Nick Buckley MBE (January 2, 2023). Sacked Author Discusses Our Failing Police – some people are above the Law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkFxH7bdhFA

Nick Buckley MBE (November 11, 2022). Author Cancelled For Speaking Up – Podcast #15 – Gillian Philip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b98kxzdZu7A

GBNews with Dan Wootton and Gillian Philip (October 4, 2022). Children’s author Gillian Philip speaks up after being ‘cancelled’ for supporting JK Rowling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn-SIBGHSwk

GBNews with Gillian Philip (April 18, 2022). Publishing companies are being ‘run by online trolls’ says Gillian Philip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REHzokVsrT8

Resources

Gillian Philip (gillianphilip.com) [archive]

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Fandom: Survivors by Erin Hunter Wiki (survivorsdogs.fandom.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Tor Publishing Group (torpublishinggroup.com)

Spiked (spiked-online.com)