Dr. Emily Friedman
@friede.bsky.social
Storyteller about storytellers.
18th century to today & beyond.
J.W.Liles Prof of English
Words: Polygon (RIP), LARB, etc
Next book: HOW STORIES ARE PLAYED (#TTRPG Actual Play & digital storytelling performance)
ecfriedman.com
(free) patreon.com/ecfriedman
18th century to today & beyond.
J.W.Liles Prof of English
Words: Polygon (RIP), LARB, etc
Next book: HOW STORIES ARE PLAYED (#TTRPG Actual Play & digital storytelling performance)
ecfriedman.com
(free) patreon.com/ecfriedman
Pinned
Dr. Emily Friedman
@friede.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Howdy, y’all.
I’m a tenured prof who studies storytelling outside the rules of mass media. This has included never-published manuscripts from during the age of print (1750-1900) & of late has made me a leader in the study of #TTRPG Actual Play.
I’ve learned a lot about friendship along the way.
I’m a tenured prof who studies storytelling outside the rules of mass media. This has included never-published manuscripts from during the age of print (1750-1900) & of late has made me a leader in the study of #TTRPG Actual Play.
I’ve learned a lot about friendship along the way.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
From today's Chronicle of Higher Ed briefing. I am *never* an advocate of cutting programs. But I am curious to see if there will be the same type of "students aren't majoring in this, so let's cut the program" discourse around computer science as there always is for the arts and humanities.
November 11, 2025 at 12:38 PM
From today's Chronicle of Higher Ed briefing. I am *never* an advocate of cutting programs. But I am curious to see if there will be the same type of "students aren't majoring in this, so let's cut the program" discourse around computer science as there always is for the arts and humanities.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
I have myself taken direct, self-sabotaging steps *against* promotion of some of my work because I don't think any "success" that would come from that would off-set the parasocial effects, especially from the many people who treat others as "things to collect & discipline," rather than as people.
November 11, 2025 at 11:13 AM
I have myself taken direct, self-sabotaging steps *against* promotion of some of my work because I don't think any "success" that would come from that would off-set the parasocial effects, especially from the many people who treat others as "things to collect & discipline," rather than as people.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
In the 2010s in particular, our international role-playing communities faced a lot of "Law of Jante" crap that, looking back on it, was this perfect feedback loop between Others' Jealousy and Creator-Inherent Internalized Feelings of Inadequacy.
In the 2020s, I think we all deserve more hugs.
In the 2020s, I think we all deserve more hugs.
y'know, as a kid you say you wanna be a writer or you wanna make video games & your family not only tells you how unrealistic it is but also that "you think you're better than us?!" & "you just want attention" & you quickly learn that having or expressing ambition is dangerous & will be punished
November 11, 2025 at 11:10 AM
In the 2010s in particular, our international role-playing communities faced a lot of "Law of Jante" crap that, looking back on it, was this perfect feedback loop between Others' Jealousy and Creator-Inherent Internalized Feelings of Inadequacy.
In the 2020s, I think we all deserve more hugs.
In the 2020s, I think we all deserve more hugs.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
If you're a student who works with radio or podcasts, take a look at the Charles Parker prize. Brilliant opportunity for oral historians
www.cpatrust.org.uk/prize
www.cpatrust.org.uk/prize
Charles Parker Prize | Showcase Your Audio Talent — Charles Parker Archive Trust
Discover top student audio features and enter the Charles Parker Prize for a chance to broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
www.cpatrust.org.uk
November 11, 2025 at 7:33 AM
If you're a student who works with radio or podcasts, take a look at the Charles Parker prize. Brilliant opportunity for oral historians
www.cpatrust.org.uk/prize
www.cpatrust.org.uk/prize
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
TODAY! We’re very excited at CECS to hear from Dr Rachael King, our British Academy International Visiting Fellow this autumn.
📢 Our next seminar is just a week away, with Rachael King @rscar.bsky.social, presenting a paper titled ‘Digital Remediations of Manuscript Archives’
🗓️ Tuesday 11 November, 5pm
📍 HG/09, Heslington Hall
www.york.ac.uk/eighteenth-c...
🗓️ Tuesday 11 November, 5pm
📍 HG/09, Heslington Hall
www.york.ac.uk/eighteenth-c...
Digital Remediations of Manuscript Archives - Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, University of York
Rachael King, our British Academy International Fellow, addresses close and distant reading, and the computational analysis of manuscript archives.
www.york.ac.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:37 AM
TODAY! We’re very excited at CECS to hear from Dr Rachael King, our British Academy International Visiting Fellow this autumn.
It’s interesting: I’ve been thinking a lot about different kinds of fame, & we tend to talk about it as if it’s a monolithic experience. But it doesn’t take much to alter different parts of your life, even if you can still go to the grocery store, make no extra $$$, aren’t a household name, etc.
when discussing parasociality & harassment, I refer to myself as a kinda-sorta public figure, or a half-assed or niche public figure
my therapist hit me with: bitch* you were profiled in The New Yorker, strangers discuss your work, you are a public figure full stop
(*"bitch" implied not literal) 🧵
my therapist hit me with: bitch* you were profiled in The New Yorker, strangers discuss your work, you are a public figure full stop
(*"bitch" implied not literal) 🧵
November 11, 2025 at 10:58 AM
It’s interesting: I’ve been thinking a lot about different kinds of fame, & we tend to talk about it as if it’s a monolithic experience. But it doesn’t take much to alter different parts of your life, even if you can still go to the grocery store, make no extra $$$, aren’t a household name, etc.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
If you or anyone you know would be interested in a GREAT Victorian studies conference in the spring, here's the CFP. Proposals due Dec 6. Especially let anyone within driving distance of Cincinnati know! The lovely @nathankhensley.bsky.social will be keynote speaker. midwestvictorian.org/conference/
Conference
“The Underground: Prohibition, Abolition, Expression”2026 Call for Papers April 10-12, 2026, hosted by Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio. Baker Street Station on the Metropolitan Railway, 1863 &#…
midwestvictorian.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:31 PM
If you or anyone you know would be interested in a GREAT Victorian studies conference in the spring, here's the CFP. Proposals due Dec 6. Especially let anyone within driving distance of Cincinnati know! The lovely @nathankhensley.bsky.social will be keynote speaker. midwestvictorian.org/conference/
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Assistant Professor of 20th-21st Century British Literature (with an emphasis on literatures of the diaspora) at UMass Amherst.
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor of English: 20th-21st Century British Literature | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
November 11, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Assistant Professor of 20th-21st Century British Literature (with an emphasis on literatures of the diaspora) at UMass Amherst.
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
When students get to college they generally don’t know what college is and that’s an incredible pedagogical opportunity. My freshman comp class did Morrison, Pope, Dickinson, Shakespeare, and Johnny Cash all swirled together in a frenzy of discovery. Education is what we make it.
November 10, 2025 at 11:35 PM
When students get to college they generally don’t know what college is and that’s an incredible pedagogical opportunity. My freshman comp class did Morrison, Pope, Dickinson, Shakespeare, and Johnny Cash all swirled together in a frenzy of discovery. Education is what we make it.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
I'll be talking this Wednesday night w/@partyofonepodcast.bsky.social about their 10 yrs of Actual Play, BUT we'll also be talking about amazing things happing in #TTRPG communities this month.
What is something you are excited about that you think we should cover?
BONUS if it's AP related!
What is something you are excited about that you think we should cover?
BONUS if it's AP related!
a man wearing glasses is giving a high five to a dog and the words `` go birds '' are written on the screen .
ALT: a man wearing glasses is giving a high five to a dog and the words `` go birds '' are written on the screen .
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I'll be talking this Wednesday night w/@partyofonepodcast.bsky.social about their 10 yrs of Actual Play, BUT we'll also be talking about amazing things happing in #TTRPG communities this month.
What is something you are excited about that you think we should cover?
BONUS if it's AP related!
What is something you are excited about that you think we should cover?
BONUS if it's AP related!
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
"The experiences of socialist countries in Eastern Europe remind us that societies can achieve a great deal when they treat ppl’s basic needs as a shared responsibility. Education, healthcare, childcare, housing, and a reasonable, minimal standard of living were seen not as privileges..." [1/3]
What Socialism Got Right
Writing "The Red Riviera" taught me that even flawed socialist systems offered insights into equality, solidarity, and the dignity of everyday life.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
November 10, 2025 at 11:46 PM
"The experiences of socialist countries in Eastern Europe remind us that societies can achieve a great deal when they treat ppl’s basic needs as a shared responsibility. Education, healthcare, childcare, housing, and a reasonable, minimal standard of living were seen not as privileges..." [1/3]
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
That’s not possible.
Everyday PAXU gets closer
November 10, 2025 at 11:30 PM
That’s not possible.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Welcome to FIASCO! We're launching our first-ever video podcast tomorrow, Nov. 11th, at 7am PT!
This two-part video podcast will be availably publicly on our YouTube channel, and as audio across your favorite podcatcher platforms.
Are you ready for the chaos???
www.patreon.com/worldsbeyond...
This two-part video podcast will be availably publicly on our YouTube channel, and as audio across your favorite podcatcher platforms.
Are you ready for the chaos???
www.patreon.com/worldsbeyond...
November 10, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Welcome to FIASCO! We're launching our first-ever video podcast tomorrow, Nov. 11th, at 7am PT!
This two-part video podcast will be availably publicly on our YouTube channel, and as audio across your favorite podcatcher platforms.
Are you ready for the chaos???
www.patreon.com/worldsbeyond...
This two-part video podcast will be availably publicly on our YouTube channel, and as audio across your favorite podcatcher platforms.
Are you ready for the chaos???
www.patreon.com/worldsbeyond...
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Your favorite RPG freelancers and many indie devs are, in America at last, allowed to have this job because of the ACA. Your games will get worse if it's killed. The brain drain will be immense.
I was freelancing before the ACA. It was harrowing. It’s saved so many lives.
After being laid off I rely solely on ACA marketplace plans to help cover my medications and some of my doctors.
If I can't afford my medication, I will die.
This is not an exaggeration.
If I can't afford my medication, I will die.
This is not an exaggeration.
November 10, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Your favorite RPG freelancers and many indie devs are, in America at last, allowed to have this job because of the ACA. Your games will get worse if it's killed. The brain drain will be immense.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
I got one of the wood lasercut blocks of @queermedieval.bsky.social's to print better: "We can be soft & brave / silly & right" and "hope comes from us" #DHmakes
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
I got one of the wood lasercut blocks of @queermedieval.bsky.social's to print better: "We can be soft & brave / silly & right" and "hope comes from us" #DHmakes
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Is there a good descriptor for the type of story—which I mostly encounter in chamber horror and time loop thrillers—where the protagonists interfacing with and attempting to circumvent The Rules is the focus of the story?
I'm thinking especially of Talk to Me, It's What's Inside, Russian Doll, etc.
I'm thinking especially of Talk to Me, It's What's Inside, Russian Doll, etc.
November 10, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Is there a good descriptor for the type of story—which I mostly encounter in chamber horror and time loop thrillers—where the protagonists interfacing with and attempting to circumvent The Rules is the focus of the story?
I'm thinking especially of Talk to Me, It's What's Inside, Russian Doll, etc.
I'm thinking especially of Talk to Me, It's What's Inside, Russian Doll, etc.
Here's a long shot: is there anyone who can talk to me about their experience in the room during KOllOK 1991's "City Council" episode? (by which I mean non-Driver players)
November 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Here's a long shot: is there anyone who can talk to me about their experience in the room during KOllOK 1991's "City Council" episode? (by which I mean non-Driver players)
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Hi writers! I’m looking to assign a couple of features for Slate before the end of the year. If you have anything in mind that you think would be a fit please send me a pitch! Jenée.Desmond- harris@slate.com or dm me.
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
November 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Hi writers! I’m looking to assign a couple of features for Slate before the end of the year. If you have anything in mind that you think would be a fit please send me a pitch! Jenée.Desmond- harris@slate.com or dm me.
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Tim Hutchings speaks about Thousand Year Old Vampire. Pick up a physical copy on our website, and hear the full interview on our YouTube channel #ttrpg #ttrpgs #vampire #journaling
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Tim Hutchings speaks about Thousand Year Old Vampire. Pick up a physical copy on our website, and hear the full interview on our YouTube channel #ttrpg #ttrpgs #vampire #journaling
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
I had the Slow Game Club explained to me recently and it’s the sweetest idea I’ve heard in a while 🥲
Forty quid for the year, you get a new game every month, and all the money goes to IntoGames, to give working class people in the UK better access to careers in game dev.
Helluva gift idea, too 👀🎄
Forty quid for the year, you get a new game every month, and all the money goes to IntoGames, to give working class people in the UK better access to careers in game dev.
Helluva gift idea, too 👀🎄
November 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I had the Slow Game Club explained to me recently and it’s the sweetest idea I’ve heard in a while 🥲
Forty quid for the year, you get a new game every month, and all the money goes to IntoGames, to give working class people in the UK better access to careers in game dev.
Helluva gift idea, too 👀🎄
Forty quid for the year, you get a new game every month, and all the money goes to IntoGames, to give working class people in the UK better access to careers in game dev.
Helluva gift idea, too 👀🎄
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Aaand only two months behind schedule but finally got around to popping up a press release (thanks @rascal.news)...
Field Agent Handbooks now available through @ipr.bsky.social or direct from me!
www.rascal.news/get-out-play...
Field Agent Handbooks now available through @ipr.bsky.social or direct from me!
www.rascal.news/get-out-play...
Get Out & Play with the Field Agent Handbooks
Pick one up today and become a pendulum-dowsing Field Agent
www.rascal.news
November 10, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Aaand only two months behind schedule but finally got around to popping up a press release (thanks @rascal.news)...
Field Agent Handbooks now available through @ipr.bsky.social or direct from me!
www.rascal.news/get-out-play...
Field Agent Handbooks now available through @ipr.bsky.social or direct from me!
www.rascal.news/get-out-play...
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Hey, a lot of people are talking about changing affiliation from Democratic to Independent.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Let me tell you why you shouldn’t do that in Colorado.
One of the main ways to get a primary challenge candidate on a ballot is to caucus for your party. You need to be registered as a Dem to caucus.
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
Have you heard about our new Archie L. Dick Research Grants? If not, take a look and see if you qualify! Even if you don't, maybe someone you know does? Deadline to apply is December 1, 2025.
sharpweb.org/grants-prize...
sharpweb.org/grants-prize...
The Archie L. Dick Research Development Grants – SHARPweb
sharpweb.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Have you heard about our new Archie L. Dick Research Grants? If not, take a look and see if you qualify! Even if you don't, maybe someone you know does? Deadline to apply is December 1, 2025.
sharpweb.org/grants-prize...
sharpweb.org/grants-prize...
Reposted by Dr. Emily Friedman
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
November 10, 2025 at 5:18 PM
okay, seriously: if we were to corral this, would anyone be interested in contributing? Here is the google form:
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...
forms.gle/m2V4j4cDvwNu...