Onyeka Nwelue


Onyeka Nwelue is a Nigerian author, filmmaker, publisher, and talk-show host. He has written over 40 books, including The Strangers of Braamfontein, which won a Crime Fiction Lovers Award and was described by Wole Soyinka as "raunchy". His book, Hip-Hop Is Only for Children, won Non-Fiction Writer of the Year at the 2015 Nigerian Writers Awards. He adapted his novella Island of Happiness into the Igbo-language film, Agwaetiti Obiụtọ. The film won Best Feature Film by a Director at the 2018 Newark International Film Festival and was nominated for Best First Feature Film by a Director at the Ousmane Sembene Award. Moreover, the film received a nomination for Best Film in an African Language at the 2018 Africa Movie Academy Awards. Nwelue is the founder of the organization Blues & Hills Consultancy, which promotes cultural entrepreneurship and organizes music events such as Diplomatic Jazz Nights.

Early life

Nwelue was born in Ezeoke Nsu, Imo State, Nigeria, to Chief Sam Nwelue and Mrs. Kate Nwelue, and grew up in an Anglican household. Nwelue's mother Catherine, née Ona, was a social scientist.
He began writing and painting in primary school and led school drama and debating societies. He attended Umunohu Primary School and Mount Olives Seminary.
He studied Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, before earning a scholarship to study Film Directing at the Prague Film School in the Czech Republic.

Career

Writing and Publishing

Nwelue has authored over 30 books, twenty of which have been self-published or published through companies owned by him.
Nwelue’s debut novel The Abyssinian Boy gained critical attention in Nigeria and India. It won awards at the Abuja Writers’ Forum. His later works include Hip-Hop is Only for Children, The Beginning of Everything Colourful, The Lagos Cuban Jazz Club, The Strangers of Braamfontein and The Nigerian Mafia series. In 2018, the Association of Nigerian Authors shortlisted The Beginning of Everything Colourful and The Lagos Cuban Jazz Club for their Annual Fiction Prize and Annual Poetry Prize respectively. In 2021, Nwelue was again shortlisted in both the categories, respectively for The Strangers of Braamfontein and An Angel on the Piano. His latest work titled The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai is the first in a ten-book series set across ten countries.

Film and Television

Nwelue's documentary House of Nwapa was shortlisted in the Best Documentary category at the 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards. The next year, Nwelue adapted his novella Island of Happiness into an Igbo film, Agwaetiti Obiụtọ, which was shortlisted in the Best First Feature Film and Best Film in an African Language categories at the 2018 Africa Movie Academy Awards. He directed The Distant Light and documentaries on social themes including sex work.
He also hosts The Onyeka Nwelue Show, a talk show featuring African creatives.

Teaching and Scholarships

Nwelue has been a Visiting Research Fellow at Ohio University, a Visiting Assistant Professor at Manipur University, and a Visiting Lecturer of African Studies at the University of Hong Kong. He previously served as Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg.

James Currey Society

In 2021, Nwelue established the James Currey Society, an organization promoting research and recognition of British publisher James Currey. The Society organizes lectures, fellowships and awards, including the James Currey Prize for African Literature, first awarded in 2021 to Ani Kayode Somtochukwu.

Awards and Recognition

  • *Creative Non-Fiction Book of the Year — Nigerian Writers’ Awards
  • *TM Aluko Prize for First Book — Abuja Writers’ Forum
  • *Best Feature Film by a Director — Newark International Film Festival
  • *ANA Prose Fiction Prize nomination — The Beginning of Everything Colourful
  • *ANA Poetry Prize nomination — The Lagos Cuban Jazz Club