SuAndi, born Susan Maria Andi, is a poet and writer of Nigerian and British heritage. She grew up in Hulme, Manchester, and began her professional writing life in 1985 as a staff member at Culturewood, working alongside Lemn Sissay. At the same time, SuAndi joined Manchester’s first black women’s poetry collective, Blackscribe. Her written work ranges from plays (The Story of M, 1995) to poetry to librettos, and she is a staunch advocate of black artists, currently sitting as the Freelance Cultural Director of the Black Arts Alliance. In 1999, SuAndi was awarded an OBE for her contributions to the arts, and received an Honorary Doctorate from Lancaster University in 2015.