Submission Guidelines
The Vibe Check
Welcome to The Feral Globalista, where cultural anthropology meets digital chaos. We're the publication that treats academic rigor and internet discourse with equal seriousness because both shape how we understand the world. Think of us as the lovechild of an academic journal and a glossy magazine, raised on 2010s internet culture and educated by global perspectives.
We're for the women who have master's degrees and credit card debt. Who work jobs that look impressive on paper but feel hollow in practice. Who can write a policy brief by day and fantasize about petty revenge by night. The serial wanderers who ran from something and ended up everywhere and nowhere. The ones who had kids at 23 or know they never will. Women navigating the gap between who they were supposed to become and who they actually are.
What we're NOT
- Hypersexual
- Crude
- Vulgar
- Grotesque
- A place that centers whiteness or Western experiences as universal
- Being mean for the sake of being mean
What we ARE
An internationally-minded publication examining society and current times through sharp, intelligent writing. We're here for the essays that function as cultural anthropology. The analysis that's as smart as it is entertaining. The work that understands culture, including digital, material, global, and local, is worthy of serious examination.
Academic magazine meets early 2010s blog energy.
What We Publish
Personal Essays
800 – 2,500 words
The secrets you'll never tell at dinner parties (or might after a few too many drinks), written with the intelligence of someone who's processed the chaos. Raw, revenge-y, cry-laughing, devastating, and deeply human.
We want the personal essays that make us gasp, laugh, and text our therapist. The stories about that one absolutely unhinged thing you did. The revenge you're not supposed to admit you enjoyed. The grief that hits you on a random Tuesday. The moment you realized you were the villain in the story. The thing you can never speak about at brunch but wrote 2,000 brilliant words about instead.
This is where wit meets devastation. Where you can be funny about the worst thing that ever happened to you. Where intelligence and emotion aren't opposites. We want essays that are viscerally personal but written with such care and insight that they become universal.
Culture
1,000 – 3,000 words
Cultural anthropology for the current moment. Smart, witty analysis of how we live now, both online and offline.
This is where we examine culture with an anthropological lens, including internet culture, fashion, art, music, food, language, global trends, social movements, and the material conditions that shape how we live. We want writing that's intellectually rigorous but accessible, thoughtful but never boring, globally-minded rather than western-centric.
Think: academic analysis meets glossy magazine features. Judith Butler meets early 2010s blogs. The New Yorker but make it fun.
Fiction, Poetry, Experimental
Max 4,000 words
We want the weird AND the wonderful. The experimental pieces that break all the rules; the thoughtfully crafted short stories that follow them beautifully.
The prose so good it makes you stop and reread a sentence three times. This category is the catch-all for creative work that doesn't fit neatly into "essay" or "article." Flash fiction. Prose poetry. Epistolary experiments. Choose-your-own-adventure pieces. Fragmented narratives. Whatever makes our brains work in new ways. Evocative and provocative pieces that make us think and feel deeply.
How To Submit
Subject line
[CATEGORY] - Title - Your Name
What to include in your email
- Your piece as an attachment, in .docx or .doc format
- Bio (2-3 sentences) covering who you are, what you write about, and where readers can find you (optional)
- Social media handles (optional but encouraged). Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, Substack, personal website, etc. We love to tag and promote contributors!
- Content warnings (if applicable). Anything readers should know before diving in: mental health, eating disorders, sexual content, violence, etc. We'll add TWs to published pieces when needed.
- Previously published info (if applicable). Where it was originally published, plus confirmation that you retain rights to republish.
Word count guidelines
These are guidelines, not hard rules. If your essay needs to be 3,000 words to work, make the case for it. If your story is 500 words of perfection, we're here for it.
Style preferences
Voice & Tone
- Write how you actually talk (elevated, but not stuffy)
- Use internet language/slang if it serves the piece
- Contractions are fine
- First person is welcome
- Humor is encouraged but not required
- Sincerity over ironic detachment
Things we love
- Strong, distinct voice
- Specific details and examples
- Sentences that make us stop and reread them
- Paragraphs that know when to break
- Endings that stick with us
- Writing that trusts the reader's intelligence
Things to avoid
- Academic writing (we're not a journal)
- Corporate speak or jargon (unless it's part of the story)
- Clichés (unless you're subverting them intentionally)
- Over-editing the personality out of your work
Formatting notes
- Use standard formatting
- Break up long paragraphs (online reading is different)
- Subheadings are helpful for longer pieces
- Italics for emphasis (but don't overdo it)
- Either US or UK English is acceptable
Ready to submit?
Send Us Your Chaos