Following a Dream: USU Alum Inspires Students With Unconventional Path to Publishing

LOGAN, Utah — Nancy Banks, author of the young adult novel “The Uninvited,” spoke at Utah State University last month, talking with aspiring writers about her path from USU student to published novelist.

Banks, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from USU, visited the Merrill-Cazier Library on Feb. 11 to share how her education had shaped a career and given her the courage — and trust in her own abilities — to strike out as an author of YA fiction.

Her message to students was clear. Professional journeys rarely unfold exactly as planned, and the skills developed in college can open new doors in unexpected ways.

“I think the traditional straight line from university to job has been a myth for a lot of people,” Banks said. “My own path went from librarian to graphic designer to bookstore owner to writer published by Penguin Random House. It certainly wasn’t the career I envisioned when I graduated.”

She credited her success to the durable skills she built at USU: critical reading, analytical thinking, persuasive writing, research and meeting deadlines. Those skills, she said, helped her navigate multiple career changes and ultimately publish her debut novel in December 2025.

“I’m a 63-year-old who just published her first novel with a ‘Big 5’ publishing house,” Banks said. “I hope one of the things the students took away is knowing that not all of us get this career thing sorted on the first try or three, and that’s normal.”

During her author talk, Banks discussed why she wrote “The Uninvited,” a folkloric vampire novel that subverts familiar tropes. As a teen, she loved vampire fiction. As an adult revisiting the genre, she reconsidered the messages embedded in those books.

“I wanted to flip that story,” she said. “I wanted readers to see a smart, capable girl reject her assigned role as victim and seize control of her life.”

Banks’ new spin on the vampire tale took hold with students in Professor Christine Cooper-Rompato’s ENGL 4340: Studies in Fiction course, which is focused on vampire literature this semester.

“Vampires can be so many things — a figure of horror, a stand-in for people's anxieties and fears, the protagonist of a romance novel and even the Count on Sesame Street. I think students have grown up with vampire stories and find them very compelling,” Cooper-Rompato said. “The students in my class have been particularly interested in gender roles in vampire stories and also issues of consent — there's just so much to talk about.”

During the event, Cooper-Rompato’s students took turns asking the alum-turned-author about everything from finding inspiration, dealing with writer’s block, securing a publisher and deciding how to approach a subject as broad as vampires in the first place.

In turn, Banks reflected on the experiences at USU that shaped her writing. She pointed to time spent reading deeply in English and history courses, a study abroad in Aix-en-Provence through the university’s French program, and skills honed in graduate school.

“My book wouldn’t exist without my experiences in France,” she said. “The research skills I learned in graduate school help me craft compelling narratives that feel true because they’re built on a scaffolding of careful, attentive research.”

Students said hearing from an alum who forged her own path made their ambitions feel attainable.

“I just really love being able to see the success stories of other students,” said Morgan Calderón-Boase, a history major pursuing a museum studies certificate. “I took the archives management course last semester, and a lot of it was … learning how to interpret materials in collections. It's a really important skill to be able to read and write well.”

Erin Watson, a creative writing major with minors in film studies and physics, said the visit was motivating.

“It’s always very inspiring to see someone who does what I do and made it,” Watson said. “So, it was just really cool to hear someone who actually has a published book talk about something that I dream of doing.”

Banks encouraged the aspiring writers to write stories they are excited about, seek trusted critique partners and remember that publishing is often a numbers game. She emphasized the importance of revision.

“Drafting can be demoralizing,” she said. “Once the words are written down, no matter how bad they are, editing and revising will make them better. It’s that knowledge that lets me keep writing.”

Her return to campus underscored the value alumni bring to current students — not only as examples of success, but as reminders that growth often happens along roads less traveled. For students with creative and professional dreams, insights from those who have navigated change can be both practical and empowering.

To learn more about “The Uninvited” by Nancy Banks, visit https://www.bankswrites.com.