The culture minister, David Lammy, who this week claimed the UK arts establishment was "too white" and off-putting to black people, yesterday became patron of a new award for stories 1,500 to 5,000 words long by African, Asian and Caribbean writers living in Britain.

Winners will be published in a Penguin anthology late next year. Peter Hewitt, Arts Council chief executive, said it would "raise the profile of culturally diverse arts" as part of the council's Decibel initiative. Judges will include Hari Kunzru, whose novel Transmission won this year's Decibel writer of the year award.