[1] He was from a devoutly Christian family, which he has cited as an important part of his world view, although he now no longer describes himself as a believer.
And I think quite quickly I became quite dismissive of all that stuff because I figured out that nothing I did was ever going to be good enough.”[1] In spite of this, Nzelu still credits the school for supporting his creative writing.
After school, Nzelu went on to read English at Girton College, Cambridge, where he made friends, enjoyed drama and comedy and discovered the work of Zadie Smith, who he cites as being a formative influence.
[3] His debut novel, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, published by Dialogue Books in 2019, went on to win a Betty Trask Award.
[5][6] His second novel, Here Again Now, dealing with themes of: "Love in its many forms, the limitations of gender norms, art and addiction,"[7] was published by Dialogue Books in March 2022,[8] was shortlisted for the Encore Award.