Nebula Science Fiction

It was published and edited, from 1952 to 1959, 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.

Nebula's circulation was international, with only a quarter of the sales in the United Kingdom; 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.

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.

"[5] Several British science fiction fans helped Hamilton with the production of the magazine, including Ken Slater, Vin¢ Clarke, and John Brunner.

After a dozen issues, the conflicts led to Hamilton moving Nebula to a printing firm based in Dublin, and breaking the connection with Crownpoint.

[3][8] 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;[3] and he later increased the rates, paying as much as 2d (0.8p, or 2.3 cents) per word for well-known authors.

[9] 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.

[11] 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.

Among a short list of exceptions Ashley includes Brian Aldiss's "Legends of Smith's Burst" and "Dumb Show".

[3][4] 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.

[16][17] 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;[18] sf artist and art historian David Hardy describes Stark's work as "severe portrayals of technology against which men were mere ants".

[4] 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.