Caleb Azumah Nelson

Caleb Azumah Nelson is a British-Ghanaian writer and photographer. His 2021 debut novel, Open Water, won the Costa Book Award for First Novel.[2][3]

Caleb Azumah Nelson
Born1993 or 1994[1]
NationalityBritish-Ghanaian
Occupations
  • Writer
  • photographer
Notable workOpen Water (2021)
AwardsCosta Book Award

Personal life

Azumah Nelson grew up in and currently lives in southeast London (Bellingham).[4] 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.[5] Although Azumah Nelson hopes to travel more and visit Ghana again, he intends to remain in Bellingham for most of his life.[5]

Beyond writing and photography, Azumah Nelson played violin for ten years.[5]

Azumah Nelson's dream to become an author began as a teenager. In 2019, after his godfather, aunt, and three of his grandparents died,[6] he quit his job at Apple and began writing full time.[3]

Photography

Azumah Nelson began shooting using a film camera when he was around eighteen years old.[5]

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.[4]

His short story Pray was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award (2020).[9][10]

Although he is 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)
Main article: Open Water (novel)

Azumah Nelson's debut novel, Open Water, was published on 4 February 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 [2][3]

Short stories
  • A Little Unsteadily Into Light (2022, New Island Books)[14]

References
  1. Claire Armitstead. Making waves, Guardian, London, 22 January 2022, Saturday, p. 66.
  2. "Awards: Costa Book Category, Aussie Prime Minister's Literary Winners". Shelf Awareness. 5 January 2022. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  3. Flood, Alison (4 January 2022). "Caleb Azumah Nelson wins Costa first novel award for Open Water". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. "Caleb Azumah Nelson". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  5. Wang, Mary (23 April 2021). "Caleb Azumah Nelson: 'The confrontation with myself enabled me to find a brief freedom.'". Guernica. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. Shaffi, Sarah; Vincent, Alice (11 January 2021). "2021 debuts: get to know our new authors". Penguin Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  7. Pearce, Isabella; Washington, Mario; Robathan, Hannah (6 May 2021). "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 13 May 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  8. "Palm* Photo Prize 2021". Palm*. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  9. "31 Questions with Caleb Azumah Nelson". Wigtown Book Festival. 4 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  10. Bamber, Belinda (5 January 2022). "Under The Cover... With Caleb Azumah Nelson - Culture". Country and Town House. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  11. Seaman, Donna (1 November 2021). "Top 10 First Novels: 2021". Booklist. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  12. Blau, Jessica Anya (20 April 2021). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Longlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  13. Nygaard, Mads (29 October 2021). "Awards: Kirkus Winners; Waterstones Book of the Year Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  14. "A Little Unsteadily Into Light". New Island Books. Retrieved 28 January 2023.


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