His first short story was published by the Sunday Tribune and in 1993 was shortlisted for a Hennessy Literary Award.

[4][5] He subsequently obtained an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia (UEA) in 1995 where he studied under Malcolm Bradbury.

[15] A Heyday/Miramax film adaptation, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was shot in Budapest in mid-2007 and released in late 2008.

Directed by Mark Herman, the film stars Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Rupert Friend and Sheila Hancock.

[18][19] Boyne deleted his Twitter account, citing social media harassment, though he would later rejoin the site.

[22][23] In 2020, comedian and writer Aidan Comerford, who had repeatedly accused Boyne of transphobia, issued an apology via Twitter.

Although Boyne did not mention Comerford by name, he referenced someone who "admitted that he'd been engaged in a determined campaign of 'relentless harassment'", and then "slithered back to his subterranean cavern to lick his wounds".