He went on to say that "White people are very fascinated with topics such as racism or Empire because that is something they can get involved with. But there are generations of black British people who aren’t interested in the Empire. That may be something that happened to our parents but it doesn’t interest us in the same way. We want to read about everyday life.

Diran's comments are a reminder to the industry that it shows little interest in the everyday and present experiences of black and ethnic minority people while it is happy to showcase authors who deal explicitly with racism. This perpetuates a white literary perspective.

While his comments will no doubt encourage publishers to look again at the work of black writers, he is being expedient in suggesting that the history of race in this country is not relevant to young people today - whatever their colour. It is as relevant now as it has ever been. A full understanding of history should not preclude equal development and opportunity for new ethnic minority writers. I trust it won't.