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.
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.
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.
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.
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, usually with their guide dog, Tate, as constant companion.
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.