Caleb Azumah Nelson
Caleb Azumah Nelson is a British-Ghanaian writer and photographer. His debut novel, Open Water, won the Costa Book Award for First Novel.[1][2]
Personal life[]
Azumah Nelson grew up in and currently lives in southeast London (Bellingham).[3] For the first six years of his life, he lived with his maternal grandmother after she moved to London from Ghana, though she eventually returned to her home country.[4] Although Azumah Nelson hopes to travel more and visit Ghana again, he intends to remain in Bellingham for most of his life.[4]
Beyond writing and photography, Azumah Nelson played violin for ten years.[4]
Azumah Nelson's dream to become an author began as a teenager. In 2019, after his godfather, aunt, and three of his grandparents died,[5] he quit his job at Apple and began writing full time.[6]
Photography[]
Azumah Nelson began shooting using a film camera when he was around eighteen years old.[4]
He believes his "writing and photography go hand in hand; they both act as sites of honest expression, and encourage me to think about how I see the world, how I move through it, how I love and express that love. When I’m confronted by the blank page, in a way, I’m confronting myself, who I am, all of the nuances which make me. There’s a freedom in affording myself or others this kind of space, to just be themselves, even if that’s for a brief moment."[7]
In 2019, Azumah Nelson won the Palm* Photo People's Choice prize[8] and was shortlisted for the Palm* Photo Prize.[9]
Writing[]
Azumah Nelson's writing has been published in Litro and The White Review.[3]
His short story Pray was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award (2020).[9][10]
Although he's inspired by many artists, Azumah Nelson has stated that his primary role models are Zadie Smith, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Kendrick Lamar, Barry Jenkins, and his parents.[10]
Open Water (2021)[]
Open Water is Azumah Nelson's debut novel, published February 4, 2021 by Viking Press.
Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Booklist's Best First Novels | Top 10 | [11] |
Desmond Elliott Prize | Longlist | [12] | |
Waterstones Book of the Year | Shortlist | [13] | |
Costa Book Award for First Novel | Winner | [1][2] |
References[]
- ^ a b "Awards: Costa Book Category, Aussie Prime Minister's Literary Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2022-01-05. Archived from the original on 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ a b Flood, Alison (2022-01-04). "Caleb Azumah Nelson wins Costa first novel award for Open Water". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ a b "Caleb Azumah Nelson". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ a b c d Wang, Mary (2021-04-23). "Caleb Azumah Nelson: "The confrontation with myself enabled me to find a brief freedom."". Guernica. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ Shaffi, Sarah; Vincent, Alice (2021-01-11). "2021 debuts: get to know our new authors". Penguin Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ Flood, Alison (2022-01-04). "Caleb Azumah Nelson wins Costa first novel award for Open Water". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ Pearce, Isabella; Washington, Mario; Robathan, Hannah (2021-05-06). "Caleb Azumah Nelson: "Open Water is for the young Black people who don't see themselves reflected in literature"". Shado Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ "Palm* Photo Prize 2021". Palm*. Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ a b "31 Questions with Caleb Azumah Nelson". Wigtown book Festival. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ a b Bamber, Belinda (2022-01-05). "Under The Cover... With Caleb Azumah Nelson - Culture". Country and Town House. Archived from the original on 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ Seaman, Donna (2021-11-01). "Top 10 First Novels: 2021". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ Blau, Jessica Anya (2021-04-20). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Longlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- ^ Nygaard, Mads (2021-10-29). "Awards: Kirkus Winners; Waterstones Book of the Year Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
- Living people
- 20th-century British writers
- 20th-century Ghanaian writers