Caleb Azumah Nelson

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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.

Awards for Open Water
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[]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b "Caleb Azumah Nelson". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Palm* Photo Prize 2021". Palm*. Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  9. ^ a b "31 Questions with Caleb Azumah Nelson". Wigtown book Festival. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Seaman, Donna (2021-11-01). "Top 10 First Novels: 2021". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  12. ^ Blau, Jessica Anya (2021-04-20). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Longlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  13. ^ 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.
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