Biography
Dr. A’ndrea J. Wilson is a multi-medium, creative writer, educator, and speaker. A’ndrea dates her writing career back to high school where she majored in Creative Writing at Rochester, New York’s School of the Arts. After graduation, she pursued careers in psychology and education, earning a Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2000, a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling in 2002, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership in 2009. Finally giving in to the internal push to write, she began writing and publishing novels in 2009, before returning to school and earning a second Master's degree in Dramatic Writing in 2017. Her continuously growing body of work often integrates her clinical background, interest in interpersonal/intrapersonal development, and love for the African-American community with storytelling.
She is the author of over twenty-one published works, including the award-winning Wife 101 series. She also writes supernatural thrillers under the pseudonym Janell. As a screenwriter, A'ndrea enjoys writing made-for-TV romances and feature film adaptations of her novels and novellas. Also a playwright, her short play "On Da Rooftop" was selected for the 2017 Fade to Black Play Festival, and her short play "A Dumping in Dixie" was selected for performance at the 2017 Urban Playwrights United Mini Fest. Her premiere play ,"Grace Period," was nominated for the Kennedy Center's Graduate Playwrights Workshop, and selected for readings at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival and the 2017 Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (ABTF). "Grace Period" was also honored with the award for "Best Reading" at the 2017 ABTF. She returned to the ATBF in 2018 with a production of her play Unsatisfied, Damaged, Broken. In 2018, she also became the Interim Chair of the ABTF Advisory Board, a position which she held for two years. An alumni of the Savannah College of Art and Design, A'ndrea is the recipient of a 2017-2018 Alumni Atelier Award/Ambassadorship, a quarter-long writing residency, affording her the support to write a Civil Rights Era play titled Wild Widow Poker, which premiered in 2020 as a collaboration between Grand View University and Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, Iowa.
She is the author of over twenty-one published works, including the award-winning Wife 101 series. She also writes supernatural thrillers under the pseudonym Janell. As a screenwriter, A'ndrea enjoys writing made-for-TV romances and feature film adaptations of her novels and novellas. Also a playwright, her short play "On Da Rooftop" was selected for the 2017 Fade to Black Play Festival, and her short play "A Dumping in Dixie" was selected for performance at the 2017 Urban Playwrights United Mini Fest. Her premiere play ,"Grace Period," was nominated for the Kennedy Center's Graduate Playwrights Workshop, and selected for readings at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival and the 2017 Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (ABTF). "Grace Period" was also honored with the award for "Best Reading" at the 2017 ABTF. She returned to the ATBF in 2018 with a production of her play Unsatisfied, Damaged, Broken. In 2018, she also became the Interim Chair of the ABTF Advisory Board, a position which she held for two years. An alumni of the Savannah College of Art and Design, A'ndrea is the recipient of a 2017-2018 Alumni Atelier Award/Ambassadorship, a quarter-long writing residency, affording her the support to write a Civil Rights Era play titled Wild Widow Poker, which premiered in 2020 as a collaboration between Grand View University and Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, Iowa.
Recent Honors
- Iowa Arts Council/Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs - Artist Grant Recipient (2021)
- NNPN and Horizon Theatre's Black Women Speak Playwright Commission (2021-2022)