Asha Bardon (They/them)
After completing their BA in Theology and Religious Studes, Asha Bardon trained as a journalist and worked freelance for over a decade. They specialised in everything Japanese, from tech and computer games — with a particular interest in Japanese Horror — to culture and anime, as well as a sideline writing about western TV and film.
Born with Retinopathy of Prematurity, Asha has been visually impaired since birth. They have had two guide dogs, Unis and the recently retired Tate, and use a long cane for mobility.
As a result they pride themselves in being a visually impaired gamer, a blind photographer and a disabled author who writes realistically disabled protagonists.
Asha has self-published several novels and sold short stories to anthologies, sharing mastheads with award-winning authors like Seanan McGuire and Ken Liu. They are currently working on several novels under an open pen name and will post news when there is some.
From 2004 until 2012, they worked as a freelance journalist, specialising in computer games, anime and manga and tech, before retiring and a legal name change in 2016. More information on their byline, including a partial portfolio of previous works and current ones, can be found on the Journalism Portfolio page.
In 2018, Asha began working as a freelance manga adaptor and editor (JP-EN/日本語-英語), working on series like Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō and dozens of yuri (girls' love) titles. A current list can be found on the Manga Adaption page and, as of September 2024, they have almost one hundred volumes under their belt.
In 2019, they began studying an MA in Classical Studies with the Open University. Asha's dissertation is on the adaptation of Greek myth within the mahō shōjo (magical girl) genre. They graduated in September 2021.
Asha has recently completed a second MA (awarded with Merit), Interdisciplinary Japanese Studies, at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, including a dissertation looking at Shinto narrative in the recent works of director Shinkai Makoto.
As of August 2024, Asha is once again working as a freelance journalist, studying for the JLPT N3 and working on a light novel. They are also planning their next research trip to Japan in Autumn 2025.
In their spare time, Asha loves to cook and write fiction. Their main hobby is photography, with a specialism in both the real world and video games. Asha’s other hobbies include bookbinding, baking and archery. They also love to travel and spend as much time in Japan as they are able..
Asha lives in a small market town with their cats: the Mighty D, the Grey Destroyer (of pigeons, mostly), the Ninth House Kittens (Gideon and Harrowhark) and Tate’s emotional support kitten, Mew.