We’re in the midst of a black British creative renaissance. So where are all the black male authors?

While black British men rise through the ranks as athletes, musicians and comedians, the UK is still hesitant to position them as “literary” figures – or public intellectuals.

By Yomi Adegoke

As a bookworm teenager, I often stumbled across a widely-shared, racist adage online: “If you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book.” Obvious bigoted inaccuracies aside, a more appropriate iteration would be “if you want to hide from the reality of modern Britain, enter a high-street bookshop.”

Stormzy, Skepta, Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega, Mo the Comedian, Michael Dapaah and a host of other high-profile black British men are collectively changing the face and hue of what Britain deems national treasures. But publishing is another story.