Onyeka Nwelue
| Onyeka Nwelue | |
|---|---|
| Born | Onyekachukwu George Nwelue 31 January 1988 Ezeoke Nsu, Imo State, Nigeria |
| Occupation | Novelist, filmmaker, cultural entrepreneur, editor, poet |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Period | 2000–present |
| Notable awards | The Future Awards, 2009 TM ALUKO Prize for Fiction, 2009 TAHIR IBRAHIM Prize for First Book, 2000 THOMSON Short Story Prize |
Onyeka Nwelue (born 31 January 1988) is a Nigerian cultural entrepreneur, filmmaker, professor and author who is best known for his novel The Abyssinian Boy, which was published when he was 21 and won the TM Aluko Prize for Fiction, came second at the Ibrahim Tahir Prize for First Book, was nominated for the Future Awards and later won the Prince Claus Ticket Grant.
Nwelue is currently an assistant professor and Visiting Fellow of African Literature and Studies at the English Language Department of the Faculty of Humanities, Manipur University in Imphal, India.
Onyeka Nwelue was born in Ehime Mbano in Imo State, Nigeria to Honourable Sam Nwelue, a politician and Knight of St. Christopher and Lady Catherine Nwelue, a teacher and Lay Reader. When he was 11, he was sent to Mount Olives Seminary in Umuezeala Nsu, where he was meant to become a priest. He left Mount Olives Seminary to continue at Holy Family Secondary School, before running away to Lagos, to pursue his career in writing. He wrote for The Guardian and The Punch.
Nwelue left for Lagos when he was 16 years old to attend the Wole Soyinka Festival, after which he was introduced to the Nobel Laureate. A few years later, Nwelue travelled to India for the 2nd International Writers’ Festival, at the invitation of the India Cultural Association.
He is the fourth of six children to his parents. His mother is cousin to Flora Nwapa, often regarded as the first African female writer to be published internationally, and acclaimed writer Chukwuemeka Ike and Professor Leslye Obiora, former Minister of Mines and Steel.
At the age of 21, Nwelue was the first African to join Sandbox, a global community of young innovators under 30, after which he was followed by Nigerian musician, Bez.
Early in his career, Nwelue wrote for The Guardian Newspaper in Nigeia, a rare opportunity given to him by Jahman Anikulapo, the then Editor of Sunday edition popular known as The Guardian on Sunday.
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