This month, we sat down with Tanya Banerjee, one of our writing coaches, to learn more about her role at Options.
Tell me a bit about your background.
I am an educator and multi-genre writer, passionate about helping students learn and grow during their writing journeys. As a Writing Coach, I strive to approach every student and their work with a mindset of support, empathy, and kindness, while also hoping to spark excitement and curiosity. In teaching, I have experience working as a college English instructor, a university graduate teaching assistant, and a university writing tutor. I have studied in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S., and I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia, and a BA in Communication and Psychology from Rutgers University–New Brunswick. In my free time, I enjoy writing, making and listening to music, reading, and drinking mochas, often simultaneously at a café. You can find out more about me on my website.
If you had a theme song, what would it be?
The Doctor Who theme song! I was a gigantic Doctor Who fan, particularly in high school.
What do you spend too much time doing?
Whenever possible, I am humming, singing, or listening to music. I have released three self-produced musical albums!
If you could teach a university course, what would it be?
I would absolutely love to teach Creative Writing university courses–Fiction, Children’s Fiction, and Screenwriting. During my MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia, I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant for two years, TAing for undergraduate courses like Intro to Creative Writing, Intro to Writing for Children, Intro to Writing for the Screen, and Intermediate Writing for the Screen. For the last course, I even got to lead my own section of students through a weekly seminar!
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I can read languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet, though I have no idea what the words actually mean! Apart from English, I can speak Bengali and Spanish, and I understand Hindi.
Ready to meet a writing coach? Contact us today to book in!
