Everyone and anything has potential. Whether you’re someone with gallery representation or someone working night shifts while making art in secret, what matters is energy. Celebrity doesn’t impress us—intensity does. Contributors and subjects should have something genuine at stake in their practice or existence. Sexuality functions as a democratiser in HEAVY FERAL stories. The lion and the mouse both have desires, both have bodies. We use this common ground to level hierarchies while generating honest conversation. Below you’ll find our EXTREMELY detailed submission requirements.
HEAVY FERAL is hungry for:
Photo essays that tell a story.
Fiction that isn’t afraid to go anywhere it wants.
Artist spotlights that dig beneath the surface.
Cultural criticism with teeth and a point of view.
Personal essays about things people usually keep to themselves.
Scene reports most publications don’t know exist.
Profiles of spaces where interesting things happen behind closed doors.
Archival material that deserves resurrection.
Graphic works and comics that push beyond conventional boundaries.
Experimental formats that blend text and visuals in ways we haven’t seen before.
Everything submitted must maintain our exclusivity requirements and match our editorial vision. Read on to find out more.
If your work fits here but hardly anywhere else, that’s exactly what we want.
DETAILED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We observe.
A HEAVY FERAL editorial feels like peeping through a keyhole. We document. Make it look like they already existed this way. In most cases a HEAVY FERAL shoot is cultural evidence. Like you caught something mid-scene. Door left open, you peeked in.
Most images back up text. They deepen the world. Setting, body language—it says something beyond looking nice. Word and image talking to each other.
But sometimes heat is enough. We love a good pinup moment. Hot, dirty enough to stand alone. No context needed—just bodies and admiration. If that heat’s missing, you need a story. This is not a hard rule though, we don’t believe in hard rules.
HEAVY FERAL likes grit—old fag rags make for great inspo. Sweat, texture, cigarette burns, dangerous eyes. We like unusual perspectives, different points of view, bodies intertwined. A theme or concept goes a long way if you have one. But proceed with caution. Remember, sex sells—low production value is arguably better than a botch job. Keep that in mind.
A bit of dirt is good. A bit of wrongness is better.
HEAVY FERAL focuses on the underground and the unseen. The weirder, the better. Faces and bodies that “violate community guidelines” are generally accepted here. Too obvious? Too seen? Not for us. We want the nearly-unknown, still making without expectation. If something feels familiar, flip it. Push it somewhere strange.
HEAVY FERAL IS NOT PORN. A shoot can be uncomfortably intimate, horny, filthy. BUT IT NEED NOT BE SHOCKING. Let it be honest. Sometimes what you don’t show becomes more powerful than what you do show. We’ve seen it all, the internet is full of it. We’re more interested in your voice than your genitalia. That applies for your subject also. That’s not a hard rule though, HEAVY FERAL is beyond rules.
Clean is not our thing. What’s your angle?
The best shoots are surprising. Something that shouldn’t be sexy but is. A look, tension, unexpected setting.
Ditch the obvious. Chase the strange. That’s it.
Send your pitch or completed project to submissions@heavyferal.com. Include a brief project description, a few sample images (low-res is fine for initial review), and links to your previous work. Most of our content starts with a dialogue and develops from there. Let’s talk.
For large files, we will share an upload link with you. We aim to respond within a week, but volume sometimes extends this timeline.
HEAVY FERAL does not currently offer payment for submissions. All contributors receive full credit in print and online, and physical copies of any print publication featuring their work. We may occasionally commission specific work—compensation for these projects is discussed individually.
FERAL Magazine (print) comes out twice a year maximum. Wait times between date of submission and date of publication exceed six months in some cases (depending on how your timing coincides with ours).
We’re extremely selective about what makes it to paper. We start with a long-list of potential content, then work that down to a short-list before we commit to the final content that goes into each print issue. We only have so many pages, so obviously we need to be brutal.
HEAVY FERAL (online) features publish faster, often within days or weeks of approval. Print features carry more prestige, but our online platform maintains the same quality standards. They’re both beautiful.
All submissions must be exclusive. Your work cannot appear anywhere else before we publish it—not on social media, not on your website and certainly not in other publications. This is non-negotiable. Editorial features, interviews, and commissioned shoots require complete exclusivity. We don’t make exceptions. Even after publication, HEAVY FERAL maintains exclusivity to the work. Rights remain with the artist, but the content must remain exclusive to HEAVY FERAL.
If you want to publish work that’s already been shown elsewhere, we can discuss featuring a selection of your work in an artist portfolio instead of an editorial. These showcase your broader body of work rather than exclusive content.
Choose what works for you, but understand our requirements upfront.
DETAILED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
A good interview feels like eavesdropping. You lean in closer. People pulling something unexpected from each other.
Never assume readers already know your subject or the topics you discuss. Ask obvious questions. Get them to explain simply. A bad interview feels like private jokes you weren’t there for.
If you’re interviewing a friend, fine—say so. But make it accessible. And ask actual questions. “You moved to Berlin in 2019” isn’t a question. “Why Berlin?” gets somewhere.
Get specific. Push past vague answers. Not: “What’s your morning routine?” Instead: “What’s the first thing you do before even getting out of bed?”
Not: “Like threesomes?” Instead: “Group situations—logistical nightmare or best idea ever?” Specificity gets real answers.
Chronology kills interviews. We’re not writing CVs or Wikipedia entries. Skip to what matters. What’s in their head right now? Too much past tense drains energy. If someone’s only interesting because of old stories, you’re asking wrong. Keep it current. What’s happening NOW? What do they dream about? What do they want, where are they going, what’s next??? Sex is a good bridge.
Activities ease tensions. Tell them to answer from the bath. While walking. On the train. Setting changes energy. Make them call naked from bed, kitchen, messy office. Or text from a cruising spot, bar, gym. Places with charge.
If you’re recording audio, make sure it’s quiet enough and that there’s decent internet. “Sexting” brings different qualities than talking. Use that.
Skip coming-out stories. We’re all gays or theys, that’s why we’re here. Coming out isn’t special—it happened to all of us. What’s more interesting? Desire. What/who do they want? Why? How does queerness shape that? Better answers live there.
Sex is always valid. Desire unites us regardless of background. HEAVY FERAL interviews have a sexual undertone—it’s part of life, culture, language. Not for shock—sex changes how people speak. They loosen up, get excited, more alive. Any good interview might turn filthy—if they want to go there. Don’t force it. But most people love talking sex. Give them space.
Ask what they haven’t answered before. What’s in their pockets right now? Last midnight Google search? The human stuff.
Let interviews go sideways. The best questions might be accidental or in response to something they say. Stay open and vigilant.
That’s what makes it worth reading.
HEAVY FERAL’s editorial team will work to maintain the publication’s distinctive voice and tone. Text may be edited for clarity, length, and impact, or edits might be requested from you. It’s a collaborative process—we’ll preserve the subject’s voice while ensuring the piece fits our aesthetic.
Visual components are critical for all interviews. These can be supplied by the interviewer, subject, or—in some cases—arranged by HEAVY FERAL. At minimum, try to include:
For questions about submissions or guidelines: submissions@heavyferal.com
For other inquiries: contact@heavyferal.com
Follow us: @heavyferal on most platforms
Contributors are strongly encouraged to share their published work on social platforms. Tag HEAVY FERAL in all posts, @heavyferal on most platforms. We promote our contributors extensively, but the publication thrives when creators actively share their involvement.
For print features, we provide digital assets and scans for social sharing. For online features, direct linking helps boost visibility for both you and HEAVY FERAL.
Everyone and anything has potential. Whether you’re someone with gallery representation or someone working night shifts while making art in secret, what matters is energy. Celebrity doesn’t impress us—intensity does. Contributors and subjects should have something genuine at stake in their practice or existence. Sexuality functions as a democratiser in HEAVY FERAL stories. The lion and the mouse both have desires, both have bodies. We use this common ground to level hierarchies while generating honest conversation. Below you’ll find our EXTREMELY detailed submission requirements.
HEAVY FERAL is hungry for:
Photo essays that tell a story.
Fiction that isn’t afraid to go anywhere it wants.
Artist spotlights that dig beneath the surface.
Cultural criticism with teeth and a point of view.
Personal essays about things people usually keep to themselves.
Scene reports most publications don’t know exist.
Profiles of spaces where interesting things happen behind closed doors.
Archival material that deserves resurrection.
Graphic works and comics that push beyond conventional boundaries.
Experimental formats that blend text and visuals in ways we haven’t seen before.
Everything submitted must maintain our exclusivity requirements and match our editorial vision. Read on to find out more.
If your work fits here but hardly anywhere else, that’s exactly what we want.
DETAILED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We observe.
A HEAVY FERAL editorial feels like peeping through a keyhole. We document. Make it look like they already existed this way. In most cases a HEAVY FERAL shoot is cultural evidence. Like you caught something mid-scene. Door left open, you peeked in.
Most images back up text. They deepen the world. Setting, body language—it says something beyond looking nice. Word and image talking to each other.
But sometimes heat is enough. We love a good pinup moment. Hot, dirty enough to stand alone. No context needed—just bodies and admiration. If that heat’s missing, you need a story. This is not a hard rule though, we don’t believe in hard rules.
HEAVY FERAL likes grit—old fag rags make for great inspo. Sweat, texture, cigarette burns, dangerous eyes. We like unusual perspectives, different points of view, bodies intertwined. A theme or concept goes a long way if you have one. But proceed with caution. Remember, sex sells—low production value is arguably better than a botch job. Keep that in mind.
A bit of dirt is good. A bit of wrongness is better.
HEAVY FERAL focuses on the underground and the unseen. The weirder, the better. Faces and bodies that “violate community guidelines” are generally accepted here. Too obvious? Too seen? Not for us. We want the nearly-unknown, still making without expectation. If something feels familiar, flip it. Push it somewhere strange.
HEAVY FERAL IS NOT PORN. A shoot can be uncomfortably intimate, horny, filthy. BUT IT NEED NOT BE SHOCKING. Let it be honest. Sometimes what you don’t show becomes more powerful than what you do show. We’ve seen it all, the internet is full of it. We’re more interested in your voice than your genitalia. That applies for your subject also. That’s not a hard rule though, HEAVY FERAL is beyond rules.
Clean is not our thing. What’s your angle?
The best shoots are surprising. Something that shouldn’t be sexy but is. A look, tension, unexpected setting.
Ditch the obvious. Chase the strange. That’s it.
Send your pitch or completed project to submissions@heavyferal.com. Include a brief project description, a few sample images (low-res is fine for initial review), and links to your previous work. Most of our content starts with a dialogue and develops from there. Let’s talk.
For large files, we will share an upload link with you. We aim to respond within a week, but volume sometimes extends this timeline.
HEAVY FERAL does not currently offer payment for submissions. All contributors receive full credit in print and online, and physical copies of any print publication featuring their work. We may occasionally commission specific work—compensation for these projects is discussed individually.
FERAL Magazine (print) comes out twice a year maximum. Wait times between date of submission and date of publication exceed six months in some cases (depending on how your timing coincides with ours).
We’re extremely selective about what makes it to paper. We start with a long-list of potential content, then work that down to a short-list before we commit to the final content that goes into each print issue. We only have so many pages, so obviously we need to be brutal.
HEAVY FERAL (online) features publish faster, often within days or weeks of approval. Print features carry more prestige, but our online platform maintains the same quality standards. They’re both beautiful.
All submissions must be exclusive. Your work cannot appear anywhere else before we publish it—not on social media, not on your website and certainly not in other publications. This is non-negotiable. Editorial features, interviews, and commissioned shoots require complete exclusivity. We don’t make exceptions. Even after publication, HEAVY FERAL maintains exclusivity to the work. Rights remain with the artist, but the content must remain exclusive to HEAVY FERAL.
If you want to publish work that’s already been shown elsewhere, we can discuss featuring a selection of your work in an artist portfolio instead of an editorial. These showcase your broader body of work rather than exclusive content.
Choose what works for you, but understand our requirements upfront.
DETAILED SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
A good interview feels like eavesdropping. You lean in closer. People pulling something unexpected from each other.
Never assume readers already know your subject or the topics you discuss. Ask obvious questions. Get them to explain simply. A bad interview feels like private jokes you weren’t there for.
If you’re interviewing a friend, fine—say so. But make it accessible. And ask actual questions. “You moved to Berlin in 2019” isn’t a question. “Why Berlin?” gets somewhere.
Get specific. Push past vague answers. Not: “What’s your morning routine?” Instead: “What’s the first thing you do before even getting out of bed?”
Not: “Like threesomes?” Instead: “Group situations—logistical nightmare or best idea ever?” Specificity gets real answers.
Chronology kills interviews. We’re not writing CVs or Wikipedia entries. Skip to what matters. What’s in their head right now? Too much past tense drains energy. If someone’s only interesting because of old stories, you’re asking wrong. Keep it current. What’s happening NOW? What do they dream about? What do they want, where are they going, what’s next??? Sex is a good bridge.
Activities ease tensions. Tell them to answer from the bath. While walking. On the train. Setting changes energy. Make them call naked from bed, kitchen, messy office. Or text from a cruising spot, bar, gym. Places with charge.
If you’re recording audio, make sure it’s quiet enough and that there’s decent internet. “Sexting” brings different qualities than talking. Use that.
Skip coming-out stories. We’re all gays or theys, that’s why we’re here. Coming out isn’t special—it happened to all of us. What’s more interesting? Desire. What/who do they want? Why? How does queerness shape that? Better answers live there.
Sex is always valid. Desire unites us regardless of background. HEAVY FERAL interviews have a sexual undertone—it’s part of life, culture, language. Not for shock—sex changes how people speak. They loosen up, get excited, more alive. Any good interview might turn filthy—if they want to go there. Don’t force it. But most people love talking sex. Give them space.
Ask what they haven’t answered before. What’s in their pockets right now? Last midnight Google search? The human stuff.
Let interviews go sideways. The best questions might be accidental or in response to something they say. Stay open and vigilant.
That’s what makes it worth reading.
HEAVY FERAL’s editorial team will work to maintain the publication’s distinctive voice and tone. Text may be edited for clarity, length, and impact, or edits might be requested from you. It’s a collaborative process—we’ll preserve the subject’s voice while ensuring the piece fits our aesthetic.
Visual components are critical for all interviews. These can be supplied by the interviewer, subject, or—in some cases—arranged by HEAVY FERAL. At minimum, try to include:
For questions about submissions or guidelines: submissions@heavyferal.com
For other inquiries: contact@heavyferal.com
Follow us: @heavyferal on most platforms
Contributors are strongly encouraged to share their published work on social platforms. Tag HEAVY FERAL in all posts, @heavyferal on most platforms. We promote our contributors extensively, but the publication thrives when creators actively share their involvement.
For print features, we provide digital assets and scans for social sharing. For online features, direct linking helps boost visibility for both you and HEAVY FERAL.
Feral Magazine & Heavy Feral © 2025
All rights reserved to the authors, artists, and photographers. No reproduction without permission. Models are over 18.
Feral Magazine & Heavy Feral © 2025
All rights reserved to the authors, artists, and photographers. No reproduction without permission. Models are over 18.