Feral House
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Adam Parfrey |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Port Townsend, Washington |
| Distribution | Consortium Book Sales & Distribution (US, Canada) Turnaround Publisher Services (UK)[1] |
| Key people | Jessica Parfrey, Christina Ward |
| Imprints | Process Media |
| Official website | feralhouse |
Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington. Feral House is known for its taboo and provocative publications, but has had significant influence in both underground circles and the mainstream.
History
Feral House was founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey in Los Angeles, California.[2][3] It is now based in Port Townsend, Washington.[1] Feral House was formed out of the collapse of his previous publisher, Amok Press.[4] The publisher became known for its taboo and strange publications, including the collected works of the Unabomber, works about Charles Manson, works by serial killers, conspiracy theorists, and neo-Nazis.[2][5] Its motto is "Refuses to be Domesticated".[5]
Parfrey maintained that just because he published someone did not mean he agreed with their views,[2] though he had friendly connections with neo-Nazis, including neo-Nazi James Mason.[6] Early publications of Feral House expressed mostly far-right political views, though this expanded over time.[7] The company's first book was a 1989 republication of The Satanic Witch by Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan.[5][4] This was financially successful for Feral House.[4] It published a variety of political extremist material.[7] Mason intended to write a book about neo-Nazi George Lincoln Rockwell published by Feral House, intended to release in 1990, but this fell through.[8]
Feral House was sued for publishing a 1998 book about the Oklahoma City bombing. The book accused an FBI official and argued the government had known the attack was going to happen. Parfrey was forced to destroy all copies of the book, apologize, and disavow the theories espoused.[5][9] In 1996, they attempted to launch Feral House Audio, a release label. Only one recording was ever released, Varg Vikernes's Filosofem.[9] Following the death of Parfrey in 2018,[5] Feral House continues to be run by Parfrey's sister, Jessica Parfrey, and Christina Ward. In 2021, they put out a call for "writers who identify as Women, People of Color, LGBTQ, and others who have felt excluded from traditional publishing", in an effort to introduce more diverse authors into their lineup.[2]
Influence
Feral House became a significant company in several underground circles, but soon developed mainstream influence as well. Their books have inspired several mainstream films.[2][10] Tim Burton's film Ed Wood was based upon the Feral House title, Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood Jr. Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes was also based on a Feral House book.[5][10][11] The Feral House title American Hardcore: A Tribal History by Steven Blush has been made into a feature documentary of the same name, released by Sony Classics in the fall of 2006.[12] The 2018 film Lords of Chaos was also based on a Feral House publication. Despite this growing influence, Feral House continued to publish neo-Nazi materials, though their political topics widened over time.[10]
References
- ^ a b "About Us". Feral House. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Haber, Matt (June 7, 2021). "Years After Its Founder's Death, Cult Publisher Feral House Is Still Celebrating the Bizarre". Los Angeles. ISSN 1522-9149. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Sunshine 2024, p. 205.
- ^ a b c Sunshine 2024, p. 215.
- ^ a b c d e f Roberts, Sam (May 14, 2018). "Adam Parfrey, Publisher of the Provocative, Dies at 61". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Sunshine 2024, pp. 215, 221.
- ^ a b Sunshine 2024, p. 218.
- ^ Sunshine 2024, pp. 214–216.
- ^ a b Sunshine 2024, p. 219.
- ^ a b c Sunshine 2024, p. 220.
- ^ Umland, Samuel J. (2015). The Tim Burton Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-8108-9201-9.
- ^ Guerrasio, Jason (September 22, 2006). "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control". Filmmaker. New York City. ISSN 1063-8954. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
Works cited
- Sunshine, Spencer (2024). "Adam Parfrey: A Neo-Nazi's Best Friend". Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason's Siege. Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right. New York: Routledge. pp. 205–229. ISBN 978-0-429-57601-0.