Neshani Andreas

Neshani Andreas (1964 – May 2011) was a Namibian writer, who had also worked as a teacher and for the American Peace Corps. She is best known for her novel The Purple Violet of Oshaantu, which made her the first Namibian to be included in Heinemann's African Writers Series. She died at the age of 46, having been diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2010.

Early life She was born in Walvis Bay, South-West Africa (now Namibia), in 1964, the second of eight children, and first worked at a clothing factory. Her parents were both employees of a fish factory. Andreas wanted to be a writer from a young age. She was an associate director of the American Peace Corps in Namibia for four years.

Teaching and writing career From 1988 to 1992, Andreas taught at a rural school in northern Namibia. In 2001, she published The Purple Violet of Oshaantu which was inspired in part by her experiences there. The novel explores the status of women in traditional Namibian society. When the book was published as part of the African Writers Series by publishers Heinemann; the first Namibian author to have a work included.