The stories in this book are set in many different parts of the world - Britain, Ireland, Australia, the USA, India, Brazil, Japan - and at first glance you might wonder what they could possibly have in common. The answer is simple. Each story explores the impact on young people's lives of something that has stained human history since before records began – racism.
It's a word that has been defined many times, and one that is constantly used in private arguments and public debates, in homes and in newspapers, on the streets and on television. But for me it's always meant one thing: doing wrong to human beings because of the colour of their skin, or some other fact about their culture or background that they can't change.
I don't remember how I first became aware of racism. I'm white and English, and grew up – and still live – in London, a very multicultural place. But the rule seems to be that where cultures meet and mingle there are always tensions. So I've seen racism in all its many and poisonous forms – the ranting of racists with banners and leaflets on street corners; the hissed hatred of an old-age pensioner in a bus queue when the kids in front of her are black; the casual, shockingly racist remark made by a relative at a family party, someone you'd thought up till then was a decent human being.
At any rate, after years of seeing racism around me, I decided that I would love to put together a collection of short stories that tackled the subject head on. It seems to me that fiction is a great way to help us understand why racism happens and what it does to people. You can read any number of weighty tomes and academic textbooks on the subject, but stories about living, breathing characters and their problems go straight to the heart.
You're now holding that collection in your hand. It's taken several years and a lot of hard work to bring it into being, but it's certainly been worth it for me. And whatever colour your skin is, whatever your background or beliefs, I'm sure you'll find stories and characters in these pages that will move you and make you think. Stories that will show you the differences between us are usually no more than skin deep, and often not even that.
Tony Bradman