Oldham writer Paul J. Burgess to release third free eBook

Oldham writer, performer, drag queen and vegan activist Paul J. Burgess will release his latest book, I Am the Detail: A Life in Writings, in November making it the third of his books to be made available completely free online.

The new collection is not a conventional autobiography. Instead, Burgess has constructed a life story from the things he wrote while actually living it. 
 
Old writing, Facebook posts, articles, poetry, photographs, journal entries, letters and notes sit alongside more recent pieces, creating a portrait assembled from different versions of the same person across more than three decades. 
 
Burgess explained: “Over the last few months, I've been going backwards through my own life. Old writing. Facebook posts. Articles. Poems. Photographs. Journal entries. Notes on my phone. Things I'd completely forgotten I'd written. 

“I realised that I've apparently been doing the same thing for decades: noticing, writing, marking moments, leaving myself little signs in the road.” 

Rather than rewriting earlier material with the benefit of hindsight, Burgess has deliberately allowed those earlier versions of himself to remain as they were. 
 
“I haven't polished Past Paul into somebody wiser than he was. I've left in the anger, fear, certainty, contradictions, bad days, good days, swearing, and grief."

The result is perhaps his most personal work to date, covering family, relationships, sexuality, creativity, grief, activism, veganism, mental health, work, performance and the ordinary moments which can become unexpectedly significant when viewed years later. 

November 6, 2026, marks exactly ten years since Burgess was the victim of an armed robbery, an event which had a profound impact on the years that followed. The anniversary appears within the wider story rather than defining it — one moment among many in a life documented, often unknowingly, as it happened. 
 
THREE BOOKS — ALL COMPLETELY FREE: I Am the Detail will join two very different books already made freely available by Burgess. 
 
Written, Then Spoken is a collection of poetry, prose, lyrics and personal reflections written across many years and many different versions of the writer. 
 
Down-To-Earth VEGAN takes a completely different direction: an accessible and practical guide to everyday vegan food and living, reflecting the down-to-earth approach to veganism Burgess promotes through his online work. 

For Burgess, that decision is a simple one: “It's probably the most personal and revealing thing I've ever shared. And, because I want people to actually read it, it'll be completely free.” 

Burgess is also known as one half of Those Vegan Guys, alongside his husband Jason Bromley. Their online content focuses on accessible, practical veganism, familiar food and animal advocacy, with an emphasis on showing that vegan living neither needs to be expensive nor aspirational. 
 
His creative career stretches much further back. Burgess spent 19 years running community arts organisation Performance Plaza and was a founder of Pink Triangle Theatre, which used performance to challenge homophobia and transphobia. His work over the years has also included acting, directing, writing, drag performance, television and radio presenting.