Sometimes a world you inhabit through the pages of a book can meet you more fully than the world around you.
That's the feeling I came away with following my conversation with the incredible Okechukwu Nzelu, a celebrated Manchester-based novelist, academic and freelance writer.
Okechukwu - or Okey for short - is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney, and Here Again Now. In this first instalment of our two-part conversation, we talk about the inspiration behind Okey's two novels - from a teenage girl finding her way to her Nigerian roots, to a reimagining of the biblical story of Ruth exploring masculinity, queerness and chosen family.
We reflect on home, identity, and the communities that have shaped Okey's sense of self and his writing. Okey speaks about wanting his fiction to offer a humanising light to readers who don't always see themselves represented that way - a place of belonging where they can feel truly seen.
This conversation was quite special to me due to a personal connection with Okey and the city and region we've both chosen to anchor ourselves. Our paths actually crossed for the first time almost fifteen years ago when we were members of Manchester Frontrunners running club, and we stayed loosely connected on social media, before bumping into each other in our local shop last year, only to discover we'd become near-neighbours.
Our shared connection to Manchester runs through our own identities and work - a creative, egalitarian city we've each chosen as home, alongside a global outlook we both share. It feels fitting, then, that so much of our conversation turns on the idea of chosen family - the people, places and communities we choose for ourselves, wherever we happen to land.
Part two is coming soon. Okey and I move into more challenging territory - his candid experiences of the publishing industry and academia as a Black British man, including prejudice, bias and systemic racism. It's a raw conversation, but one that ultimately returns to hope and community.
Thank you, Okey, for your openness, wit, and the shared sense of journey and community.
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