Nebula Science Fiction was the first Scottish
science fiction magazine. It was published
from 1952 to 1959, and was edited by Peter
Hamilton, a young Scot who was able to take
advantage of spare capacity at his parents'
printing company, Crownpoint, to launch the
magazine. Because Hamilton could only print
Nebula when Crownpoint had no other work,
the schedule was initially erratic. In 1955
he moved the printing to a Dublin-based firm,
and the schedule became a little more regular,
with a steady monthly run beginning in 1958
that lasted into the following year. Nebula's
circulation was international, with only a
quarter of the sales in the United Kingdom
(UK); this led to disaster when South Africa
and Australia imposed import controls on foreign
periodicals at the end of the 1950s. Excise
duties imposed in the UK added to Hamilton's
financial burdens, and he was rapidly forced
to close the magazine. The last issue was
dated June 1959.
The magazine was popular with writers, partly
because Hamilton went to great lengths to
encourage new writers, and partly because
he paid better rates per word than much of
his competition. Initially he could not compete
with the American market, but he offered a
bonus for the most popular story in the issue,
and was eventually able to match the leading
American magazines. He published the first
stories of several well-known writers, including
Robert Silverberg, Brian Aldiss, and Bob Shaw.
Nebula was also a fan favourite: author Ken
Bulmer recalled that it became "what many
fans regard as the best-loved British SF magazine".
== Publishing history ==
In 1952 Peter Hamilton was 18 years old and
had just left school; he was looking for a
job, but was not healthy enough for hard physical
work. His parents ran a printing house in
Glasgow, Crownpoint Publications, and occasionally
had spare capacity: they were interested in
using the idle time on their machinery to
enter the publishing business, and Peter persuaded
them to publish paperback science fiction
(sf) novels. Two novels were acquired, but
when Crownpoint approached a local wholesaler
to handle the distribution, they were told
that paperbacks would be a mistake, and that
a magazine, with a regular publication schedule,
would be more likely to sell well. The result
was Nebula Science Fiction. The first issue
was dated Autumn 1952, and sold 4,000 copies.
Advertisements stated that Nebula was "Scotland's
first S.F. magazine!!" Several British science
fiction fans helped Hamilton with the production
of the magazine, including Ken Slater, Vin¢
Clarke, and John Brunner. William F. Temple
was involved as an editorial consultant and
also assisted with editing the manuscripts.
Hamilton provided all the financing, but he
had to wait for the money to come in from
each issue before he could afford to produce
the next. In addition, Crownpoint only intermittently
had enough spare capacity to print Nebula,
so the first few issues appeared on an erratic
schedule. After a dozen issues, the conflicts
led to Hamilton moving Nebula to a printing
firm based in Dublin, and breaking the connection
with Crownpoint. He was then able to publish
on a slightly more regular schedule, although
the planned bi-monthly issues were still sometimes
delayed. Hamilton paid 21 shillings (£1.05)
per thousand words, the equivalent of three
tenths of a cent per word; this was a low
rate compared to the American market, but
was marginally better than the contemporary
British magazine Authentic Science Fiction,
which paid £1 per thousand words. Hamilton
offered a bonus of £2 or £5 to the story
that turned out to be the readers' favourite
in each issue, which helped attract writers;
and he later increased the rates, paying as
much as 2d (0.8p, or 2.3 cents) per word for
well-known authors. This was higher than the
best UK markets, such as New Worlds, and was
close to the rates paid by the top magazines
in the US at that time. Both the high rates
of pay and Hamilton's willingness to work
with new authors were designed to encourage
writers to submit their work to Nebula before
trying the other magazines.Hamilton's editorial
in the September 1957 issue reported a circulation
of 40,000, and starting in January 1958 Nebula
went on a regular monthly schedule that was
maintained until early 1959. Although Nebula's
circulation was strong, only about a quarter
of its sales were in the UK. A further quarter
of the sales were in Australia, another third
in the US, and nearly a tenth in South Africa.
At the end of the 1950s, first South Africa
and then Australia began to limit foreign
magazine imports, for economic reasons, and
when this was followed by UK excise duties
the magazine was quickly in debt. Hamilton
was forced to cease publication with issue
41, dated June 1959. Hamilton had also had
health problems which contributed to his decision
to stop publication.
== Contents and reception ==
The first two issues of Nebula contained the
two novels Hamilton had bought before changing
his plans from a paperback series to a magazine:
Robots Never Weep by E.R. James, and Thou
Pasture Us by F.G. Rayer. These left little
room for other material, but Hamilton was
able to reprint a short story by A. E. van
Vogt in the first issue, and stories by John
Brunner and E. C. Tubb in the second issue,
along with material by lesser known writers.
There was also a column by Walt Willis called
"The Electric Fan", later renamed "Fanorama",
which covered science fiction fandom.Many
of the better-known British writers began
to appear in Nebula, including William F.
Temple and Eric Frank Russell; new authors
also began to be published. Hamilton was glad
to work with beginning writers, and in 1953
several writers who later became very well
known, including Brian Aldiss, Barrington
Bayley, and Bob Shaw, each sold their first
story to Nebula. Not all these stories reached
print that year: Aldiss's "T" appeared in
the November 1956 issue, by which time other
stories of Aldiss's were in print, and the
first story by Bayley is not certainly identified
– it may have been "Consolidation", which
appeared in November 1959, but it is also
possible that it was never printed. Robert
Silverberg had begun submitting stories to
Hamilton as soon as he heard of Nebula, realizing
that Hamilton was unlikely to be getting many
submissions from US writers, and found Hamilton
very helpful. Silverberg's first story, "Gorgon
Planet", was accepted by Hamilton on January
11, 1954. Brian Aldiss echoes Silverberg's
assessment of Hamilton, commenting that Hamilton
was "a sympathetic editor to a beginner. He
was also a patient editor."Other authors who
appeared in Nebula early in their careers
included Harlan Ellison, John Rackham, and
James White. Science fiction historian Mike
Ashley regards the stories Hamilton selected
as demonstrating a "wide range of material
by excellent writers" that was "seldom predictable",
but adds that the stories have become dated,
with the result that few are now well-known.
Among a short list of exceptions Ashley includes
Brian Aldiss's "Legends of Smith’s Burst"
and "Dumb Show". Because of the erratic schedule,
Hamilton only serialised one novel: Wisdom
of the Gods, by Ken Bulmer, which appeared
in four parts, starting in the July 1958 issue.
Hamilton was planning to serialise a novel
by Robert Heinlein when the magazine ceased
publication.Cover art came from artists such
as Gerard Quinn, and included some of Eddie
Jones' earliest work. According to sf historian
Philip Harbottle, the best of the Scottish
artists that Hamilton worked with was James
Stark, who painted nine covers for Nebula
between 1956 and 1958; sf artist and art historian
David Hardy describes Stark's work as "severe
portrayals of technology against which men
were mere ants". Interior artists included
Harry Turner, whose work is described by Harbottle
as "visually striking" and "semi-impressionistic".
From the October 1954 issue the back cover
was given over to black and white artwork,
often drawn by Arthur Thomson. Author Ken
Bulmer regards these back covers as having
given the magazine a "tremendously individual
flavor".Nebula became an established part
of the British science fiction scene in the
1950s. The magazine was well-liked by writers,
and Bulmer recalls that, overall, Nebula "created
a special kind of charisma that, in the view
of many writers and readers, no other magazine
ever had", and adds that it became "what many
fans regard as the best-loved British SF magazine".
Tubb, who sold many popular stories to Hamilton,
comments that "Authors wrote for Nebula with
financial reward taking secondary place; the
desire of submitting a good story being of
primary importance ... the writers and the
contributors felt as if Nebula was 'their'
magazine, and all that became a happy, well-integrated
family."
== 
Bibliographic details ==
The publisher was Crownpoint Publications
for the first twelve issues, though the name
was dropped from the indicia starting with
the December 1953 issue. From September 1955
the publisher was Peter Hamilton, who was
editor throughout. The price was 2/- (10p)
for all but the last two issues, which were
priced at 2/6 (12.5p).Nebula was printed in
large digest format, 8.5 by 5.5 inches (220
mm × 140 mm). The first three issues were
120 pages; this increased to 128 pages for
the next three issues, to 130 pages for issue
7, and to 136 pages for issue 8. Issues 9
through 12 were 128 pages, and the remaining
issues were 112 pages. The issues were numbered
consecutively throughout; the first eight
issues were given volume numberings as well,
with two volumes of four numbers each.Issues
30 through 39 of Nebula were distributed in
the US; they were stamped at 35 cents and
post-dated four months, thus the American
copies ran from September 1958 to June 1959.
== Notes
