On my radar: Caleb Azumah Nelson’s cultural highlights

The Costa first novel award winner on ​Dave, the jazz photography of Roy DeCarava, ​and his restaurant obsession

The writer and photographer Caleb Azumah Nelson was born to Ghanaian parents and raised in south-east London. He quit a job at the Apple Store on Regent Street to focus on writing and in 2020 was shortlisted for the BBC short story prize. In February 2021 he published his debut novel, Open Water, which revolves around a love affair between two young black Londoners, a photographer and a dancer. Azumah Nelson was named one of National Book Foundation’s “5 under 35” honorees, and last month Open Water won the Costa first novel award. It’s out now in paperback.