Hello, Everyone!

Last October I had the honor of sitting down with Erica Friedman, Author of By Your Side, for an interview. Friedman is a pioneering voice of Yuri media and queer representation in anime and manga studies field within the English speaking world. Holding a Master’s Degree in Library Science and a B.A. in Comparative Literature, she is an accomplished managing editor, author, and lecturer whose work bridges fandom, scholarship, and publishing.

Over the course of her career, Friedman has lectured at events and institutions around the world, including the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, MIT, Harvard University, Keio University, and many others. Her insights have been featured in publications such as Anime News Network, Animerica, the Huffington Post, Anime Herald, and many more.

Since 2002, she has shared news, reviews, and interviews focused on Yuri creators and media through her long-running blog, Okazu (linked below) and in her novel-length work By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga. She also contributed to DK’s Manga: A Visual History. In addition, she has published a cyberpunk novella and continues to write and edit across multiple major publishers and media outlets.

This post is to share our interview!

Important Links:

• Yuri Studio: A Very Brief History of Yuri by Erica Friedman: https://youtu.be/e8Te2epyC_4?si=14dyjZWTCvMcUrPq 
• https://www.yuricon.com/essays/
• https://okazu.yuricon.com/