English Literature/ TEFL teacher – 7 years experience

I’m an award winning writer of fiction and non-fiction in the English language. I write under the name Pitaya Chin and have won national prizes for my books, as well as appearing at festivals and delivering workshops on English literature to students of all ages in seven cities of Australia. As a writer, I am represented by Rach Crawford of Wolf Literary. You can find out more from my Wikipedia page. I have a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Economics and recently completed a TEFL qualification. I’m now seeking an exciting opportunity to teach English in China so I can share my love of English language with the world!

Qualifications

University of New South Wales, Sydney
2012     Bachelor of Economics (Distinction) 
Economics and Econometrics 

University of New South Wales, Sydney
2012     Bachelor of Arts  
Development Studies 

TEFL Universal
120 hour Advanced TEFL/TESOL course
May 2026

Published books and awards

Real Differences (Transit Lounge, 2019) ISBN 978-1-925760-28-6
winner of the UTS Glenda Adams Prize (2020)

Revenge (Transit Lounge, 2020) ISBN 978-1-925760-58-3
winner of the Barbara Jefferis Award (2022)
shortlisted for the Stella Prize (2021), Queensland Literary Awards (2021)

The Director and the Daemon (Puncher & Wattman, 2024) ISBN 978-1-923099-16-6
selected as ‘Fiction Pick of the Week’ by the Sydney Morning Herald
selected as Boston Public Library ‘Recommendation for Winter Reading’.

Teaching experience

University teaching

Between 2013-2023, I was employed as a casual academic at the economics faculties of the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney, teaching students aged 17-22. Subjects included development economics, microeconomics, macroeconomics and environmental economics. All classes were taught in English to classes of over 30 percent international students, many from China. Responsibilities included:
• face to face delivery of course material
• class preparation
• response to student questions during consultation
• exam marking and supervision.

Writing classes and workshops
As a professional writer, I have traveled between different cities in Australia offering classes, workshops and discussions of English literature at public events. These events are attended by members of the public ranging from children as young as 5 to retirees. They are delivered at venues such as bookshops, libraries and festivals. Often, I work with the assistance of a co-teacher or co-presenter. A selection of classes I’ve delivered is listed below.
• Judge for the Newcastle Short Story Award 2024
• Stella Day Out Festival, Canberra – ‘The Rhythm of Writing’ with Pitaya Chin. Co-taught with Zoya Patel, November 2024
• Fullers Bookshop, Hobart – ‘In Conversation with Pitaya Chin and Zowie Douglas- Kinghorn’, September 2024
• Better Read Than Dead Bookshop, Sydney – ‘The Director and the Daemon – launch and in-conversation co-presented with Partho Sen-Gupta’, July 2024
• Byron Writers’ Festival 2019 ‘Love, Loss and Identity’ – panel discussion with Gail Jones and Melanie Cheng
• Melbourne Writers’ Festival 2019 – co-presented with Shu-Ling Chua