About Feral House

Adam Parfrey founded Feral House in 1989.  Since then, it has consistently published innovative, unexpected and thought-provoking nonfiction — inspiring films and cultural trends; exposing crime, malfeasance and stupidity; and celebrating artists and thinkers overlooked by popular media.  Feral House and sister press Process Media are Headquartered in Port Townsend, WA.Feral House and Process Media, publishers of topics of esoteric interests and distinctive voices, is a formidable force in independent publishing and often the first and definitive source for documenting cultural movements.  We feel that stories about and written by members of marginalized communities are interesting and essential to ALL readers.

About Adam Parfrey

1957-2018

Noted for his foresight as both a writer and publisher, Adam Parfrey’s Apocalypse Culture (1987) was hailed by J.G. Ballard as “the terminal documents of the Twentieth Century.” Cult Rapture (1995), subject of a notorious art exhibition at Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art, included among its dozen pop culture investigations, Parfrey’s Village Voice cover story, the first published article on militias and domestic terrorism.

Apocalypse Culture II (2000), Parfrey’s lauded sequel, anticipated anthrax terror with a disturbing article on Biological Warfare. Extreme Islam: Anti-American Propaganda of Muslim Fundamentalism (2001), “a frightening primer on radical Muslim thought” (New York Press), reveals the ways in which East Jerusalem has become Ground Zero for a coming World War.

In 2012, with co-author Craig Heimbichner, Adam wrote the seminal book on American secret societies, Ritual America:  Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society.  A new expanded edition was released in 2021.

But writing is not Parfrey’s sole forte. According to the Disinfo.com website, “Adam Parfrey is probably the most influential ‘underground’ publisher in post-millennial America.” In an L.A. Weekly feature, writer Doug Harvey celebrated “Adam Parfrey’s notorious, perpetually ahead-of-the-curve company, Feral House, whose encyclopedic interest in taboo (and conveniently forgotten) cultural phenomena helped define independent media through the ’90s.”

Tim Burton’s bio-picture on the B-movie director Ed Wood was based upon the Feral House book, Nightmare of Ecstasy.  The 2018 Jonas Akerlund film Lords of Chaos was based on the Feral House title of the same name. Feral House’s collections of bizarre conspiracy theories, such as Secret and Suppressed: Banned Ideas and Hidden History, were noted influences on Chris Carter’s X-Files. Parfrey himself appeared in and co-wrote Crispin Glover’s controversial “What Is It?” ? a 2005 Sundance Film Festival selection.

Parfrey’s second publishing imprint, Process Media, a collaboration with Jodi Wille, debuted in 2005 with publications by authors Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight), Timothy Archibald (Sex Machines), and Jolene Siana (Go Ask Ogre) and the popular Self-Reliance Series.

Adam passed away in May 2018.  The impact he made, friends empowered, enemies enraged, is at the very heart of Feral House, and we will embrace that for as long as we are able.


Feral House & Process Media also invites freelance book designers and copy editors who identify as a person of color and/or LGBTQ to submit their resume for consideration of future projects.

Our publishing topics

  • Memoir - Extraordinary stories of exciting lives. (We are not interested in ‘therapy journal’-style recovery stories.)
  • Biography - Cultural and historical figures, unique characters, overlooked contributors to social and artistic movements, eccentric creators and artists.
  • Music - Influential yet underground genres and movements and important and overlooked creators.
  • History - People and events outside the “textbook” of American history.
  • Self-Reliance - Skills and practical how-to advice on living in the modern world (or living in the post-apocalyptic world.)
  • Realpolitik - Underground movements, philosophies, and people affecting and influencing government.
  • Criminal Justice - Experiences and narratives about the criminal justice system.
  • Mysticism & Occult - Stories about people, groups, and ideas that dwell in the outer realms of belief.
  • Children - Stories that explore civics, politics, and history for readers aged 7-10.
  • Food - Cookbooks and culinary histories of overlooked cooks, regional cuisines, and the intersection of food and other cultural movements.

We have specific interest in

  • Stories about Black foremothers of rock-n-roll.
  • Black and Indigenous experiences in post-Civil War U.S.
  • Historic Latino contributors to American social movements, film and music.
  • Female trailblazers of science, politics, social justice and the arts.
  • The lives and stories of overlooked LGBTQ contributors to American culture.
  • Histories and biographies of intellectuals, scientists and artists throughout the world long ignored by traditional American textbooks--from Islamic polymath Averroes and to the underappreciated creators who thrived during the Harlem Renaissance

Manuscript Submission Requirements

We do not publish fiction (excepting historical), poetry, plays or short stories.

Please send a query email that includes:
  1. Overview.  A full description of the book and why it’s compelling and interesting to all readers. Please keep to a single page.
  2. Table of Contents.
  3. Total word count.
  4. Chapter Outline.  A one or two sentence summary of each chapter.
  5. Sample Chapter.  We need to see a sample of your writing and how the book is organized.
  6. About Me.  A short biography about you and why you’re the right person to write the book.
  7. Images. Let us know if your proposed book intends to have images and how many. Send an example of one or two images.

Note: Process Media Inc. is an imprint of Feral House that focuses on artistic, new-age, and self-reliance themes.
Please send inquiries for Feral House & Process Media to:  info@feralhouse.com
If we find your proposal intriguing, we will get back to you. We cannot guarantee a response to every submission.
We prefer to work directly with authors.


FERAL HOUSE DISTRIBUTORS

Feral House is distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.

Feral House is no longer distributed by Publishers Group West (PGW).

Domestic

Consortium Book Sales and Distribution
The Keg House
34 13th Ave NE
Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Tel: 612.746.2600
www.cbsd.com

Our books can also be ordered through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Small Press Distribution, Bookazine, Koen, AK Press, Book People, and Last Gasp.

Foreign Distribution

Canada:
Consortium Book Sales and Distribution
The Keg House
34 13th Ave NE
Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Tel: 612.746.2600
www.cbsd.com

United Kingdom, Europe, and other overseas locations:
Turnaround Publisher Services
Unit 3, Olympia Trading Estate
Coburg Rd.
London N22 6TZ
England
Tel: 44 (0) 208-829-3000/Fax: 44 (0) 208-881-5088
Email: orders@turnaround-UK.com