Emelumadu was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and happily raised in Awka, Nigeria. Her work has been shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Awards (2015), the Caine Prize for African Literature (2017 & 2020) and has won a Nommo award (2020).
In 2019, she emerged winner of the inaugural Curtis Brown First Novel prize for her manuscript 'Dazzling’.