Paul Burston

Paul Burston is curator and host of award-winning LGBTQ+ literary salon Polari and founder of the Polari Prize book awards for LGBTQ+ writers, based at the British Library. In 2016, he featured in the British Council’s Global List of ‘33 visionary people promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights around the world’. A Rainbow List National Treasure and former AIDS activist with ACT UP London, he is one of the subjects of Alexis Gregory’s critically acclaimed verbatim play Riot Act.

Paul’s writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Sunday Times and many other publications. He has also written and presented documentaries for Channel 4 and is a regular contributor to TV and radio. Paul Burston is the author of six novels and five non-fiction books and the editor of two short-story collections.