Teacher publishes her debut YA novel
Vancouver author Tanya Boteju is living the dream. Just months after completing the Writer鈥檚 Studio Online program in 2018, a major publisher snapped up her debut young adult novel. 鈥淚 try not to share this too much because I realize it isn鈥檛 typical,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 really lucky.鈥�
Not bad for a high school teacher who didn鈥檛 even start writing 鈥渟eriously鈥� until five years ago. 鈥淚 did a little bit of poetry and short stories here and there, but nothing that I was putting out into the world,鈥� says Tanya. 鈥淏ut I had this sense that I had a novel in me. I knew if I was going to write a book, it would have something to do with the drag scene.鈥�
That book became Kings, Queens and In-Betweens, the story of a queer teen who stumbles into the world of drag and unexpectedly finds a sense of belonging. Tanya drew the setting from her own experience performing as a drag king in her twenties. 鈥淣ightlife is not so much part of my life anymore,鈥� she laughs.
Published by Simon and Schuster in 2019, the novel has now received high praise from the likes of the American Booksellers Association, Barnes & Noble and Ms. Magazine. Yet when Tanya began writing Kings, she found herself struggling to finish it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too hard to try to generate that energy at the end of a school day to sit down and write,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 knew if I wanted to finish it anytime soon, or be able to write consistently, I鈥檇 need some sort of structure. And I needed motivation.鈥�
She鈥檇 heard about the Writer鈥檚 Studio from friends who鈥檇 been through the program, and she chose the online version to accommodate her full-time teaching schedule. 鈥淥nline wouldn鈥檛 have been my first choice,鈥� Tanya concedes, 鈥渂ut I ended up loving it.鈥�
Not only did she save time by not having to commute to class, but she was able to study and write on her own schedule and still participate in live online workshops with her classmates. 鈥淭hey really didn鈥檛 feel any different from workshops I鈥檝e done in person.鈥�
For Tanya, the highlight of the program was her mentor, prolific YA author Eileen Cook: 鈥淗er expertise, her wisdom, and her generosity in giving me her time and knowledge, have all been invaluable. Even after the program was done, she helped walk me through things when I got stuck.鈥�
Tanya also appreciated the program鈥檚 lessons on the business side of publishing, from the process of writing query letters to finding a publisher and agent. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know where I was supposed to go after I鈥檇 finished my manuscript. The Writer鈥檚 Studio takes you through all that鈥攁nd it worked for me, of course!鈥�
With one novel under her belt, Tanya is now at work on the second in her contract, set for publication in 2021. Although she never originally planned to write for young adults, she says she simply 鈥渇ell into it,鈥� finding inspiration in her own admittedly awkward and insecure teen years, as well as her experiences as a teacher.
鈥淲谤颈迟颈苍驳&苍产蝉辫;Kings partly came out of working with young adults and seeing so many kids who feel out of the norm in so many ways. I try to use my writing to create spaces for kids to feel more accepted, and to know that it鈥檚 okay to be a little weird鈥攊n fact, it鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�
Given the enthusiastic reception to her work, it鈥檚 clear that Tanya has struck a chord. 鈥淭he kids I鈥檝e met at my book events have been great,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ften they鈥檙e young writers and queer kids who saw themselves in the book. I鈥檝e had some beautiful emails, and that鈥檚 exactly the response you want from the people you鈥檙e writing for.鈥�
By Kim Mah