The story
Founded by Adam Parfrey in 1989.1
Background
Feral House was formed out of the collapse of Adam Parfrey's previous publisher, Amok Press, which Parfrey had founded with Ken Swezey in 1986. After Amok Press collapsed, Swezey founded his own publisher, Blast Books.
On March 30, 1989, Stuart Swezey (Ken Swezey's brother) and Brian King of Amok Books (related to but distinct from Amok Press) wrote a letter to LA Weekly saying that Amok Press was defunct. In response to Stuart Swezey and King, Parfrey and Ken Swezey penned a letter to the LA Weekly that denied they were defunct, and said that Feral House and Blast Books would be imprints of Amok Press. This was not the case and both publishers succeeded Amok Press.
Origins
Feral House was founded in 1989 by Parfrey in Los Angeles, California. The name was suggested by Boyd Rice. It is now based in Port Townsend, Washington. The company's first book was a 1989 republication of The Satanic Witch by Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. This was financially successful for Feral House. The publisher became known for its taboo and strange publications, including the collected works of the Unabomber, works about Charles Manson, and works by serial killers, conspiracy theorists, and neo-Nazis. It published a variety of political extremist material.
In 1996, they attempted to launch Feral House Audio, a release label. Only one recording was ever released, Varg Vikernes's Filosofem. 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.
After Parfrey's death
Following the death of Parfrey in 2018, Feral House continued 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.
On February 10, 2026, Feral House announced that Christina Ward had acquired ownership of Feral House and its imprint Process Media. Former owner Jessica Parfrey would step back from day-to-day operations and take on the role of editor-at-large.
From Wikipedia’s article on Feral House, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3