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Science Fiction Monthly

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Science Fiction MonthlyTwo magazine binders, one open to show the front page of the
first magazine
Two of the binders NEL sold to hold the magazine, open to show the first issue. The
artwork is by Bruce Pennington.
Categories Science fiction
Frequency Monthly
Publisher New English Library
First issue February 1974
Final issue May 1976
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Science Fiction Monthly was a British science fiction magazine published from 1974
to 1976 by New English Library. Launched in response to demand from readers for
posters of the cover art of New English Library's science fiction paperbacks, it
was initially very successful—its circulation had reached 150,000 by the third
issue. It reprinted artwork by Chris Foss, Jim Burns, Bruce Pennington, Roger Dean,
and many others. Well-known writers who appeared in its pages included Brian
Aldiss, Bob Shaw, Christopher Priest, and Harlan Ellison. High production costs
meant that a large circulation was necessary to sustain profitability, and when
circulation fell to about 20,000 after two years NEL ceased publication. A new
magazine, S.F. Digest, was launched as its replacement but lasted for only one
issue.
Publication history

In the early 1970s, the London-based publisher New English Library (NEL) published
a successful line of science fiction paperbacks that included well-known authors
such as Frank Herbert and Robert A. Heinlein. The covers were popular with readers,
and NEL frequently received requests for copies of the paperback cover art, without
the overprinted material such as the title.[1] They decided to produce a magazine
to make the artwork available in poster form, hoping that the magazine would
attract a young audience who might then become readers of NEL's books.[2] By the
middle of 1973 the decision was taken to add fiction and non-fiction features,
though NEL still considered it primarily a vehicle for their art.[1][3] The title
was at first planned to be Sci-Fi Monthly, but this was abandoned when NEL found
out that the abbreviation "sci-fi" was widely disliked by science fiction readers.
[4] The first issue appeared at the end of January 1974; the issues were always
numbered and never dated.[3] The editorial team included Michael Osborn as art
editor, with responsibility for the magazine's layout, and, initially, Aune Butt
and Penny Grant, who acquired non-fiction and fiction. From the eighth issue, Julie
Davis took over Butt and Grant's editorial duties.[3]

Interest in science fiction and fantastic art was growing at the time Science
Fiction Monthly was launched, and sales were initially strong, with circulation
reportedly at 150,000 by the third issue. This could not be sustained: Mike Ashley,
a science fiction historian, suggests that poor economic conditions in the UK in
the 1970s contributed to falling readership.[3] Inflation, along with an increase
in the cost of paper, meant that the price rose rapidly from 30p in late 1974 to
50p only eighteen months later, by which time circulation had fallen to under
20,000.[3][5] Ashley also suggests that the readership was in "two factions: those
who wanted the art did not want the fiction, and vice versa".[1] The magazine was
expensive to produce, because of the costs associated with colour reproduction, so
it required a higher circulation than a typical digest magazine, and it was
cancelled in early 1976. NEL replaced it with S.F. Digest, a smaller magazine with
less emphasis on artwork, but this only lasted one issue before NEL's magazine
department was cut.[1][3]
Contents and reception
A spacecraft flying away from the viewer
Cover of the second issue; artwork by Chris Foss

The magazine was published in tabloid format (40 by 28 centimetres (16 by 11 in)),
with high-quality colour reproduction; it was not stapled, so that it could be
disassembled and the artwork used as posters.[3] The first issue included four
full-page reproductions, and another five double-page spreads, at 40 by 56
centimetres (16 by 22 in). One such double-page image was Bruce Pennington's
depiction of the spaceship Discovery from Arthur C. Clarke's The Lost Worlds of
2001, which was also used as the cover art for the issue.[3][6] As well as the art,
the first issue included stories by Christopher Priest and Brian Aldiss, an excerpt
from Pirates of the Asteroids by Isaac Asimov, and columns covering films, art, and
news items.[7][8] The first news column, by Penny Grant, mentioned the UK's annual
Easter science fiction convention and the British Science Fiction Association
(BSFA). Both saw a surge in inquiries about membership as a result, and over 400
people attended the next Easter convention—a significant increase over the previous
year's attendance of 250–300.[7]

Artists featured in subsequent issues included Tim White, David Hardy, Roger Dean,
Jim Burns and Josh Kirby;[3] the artwork depicted was not limited to works
originally published by NEL.[6] Chris Foss contributed the cover for the second
issue; the science fiction historian David Kyle describes it as "a cross between
the technologically reasoned, deep-space vehicle of 2001 and the inspired
gimcrackery of artist Richard Powers", adding that it illustrated a trend in the
1970s towards "heavily pseudo-technological" artwork for science fiction paperback
covers.[6] The tabloid format was larger than the paperback book covers where much
of the artwork had first appeared, and David Hardy commented that as a result
"every brush-stroke and blemish became visible".[9]
There were no other science fiction magazines in the UK in the mid-1970s, so the
volume of fiction submissions was very high—about 400–500 stories a month. Terry
Greenhough and Chris Morgan both made their first fiction sales to Science Fiction
Monthly, and Garry Kilworth and David S. Garnett also had early sales, but it was a
difficult market to break into: as well as the intense competition, the magazine
only published two or three stories per issue, and usually at least one would be by
a well-known writer. None of the winners of a short-story competition, run in 1974
with categories such as best foreign story and best Commonwealth story, went on to
do any substantial work in the genre. Well-known British writers who appeared in
the magazine's pages included Brian Aldiss, Christopher Priest, Ian Watson, Robert
Holdstock, and Bob Shaw. Stories by American writers included both reprints and
some original material, such as Harlan Ellison's "Shatterday" and Jack Williamson's
"The Highest Dive".[3] Despite the competitiveness of the market, the Encyclopedia
of SF describes the fiction as having been initially weak, though improving once
Davis became editor.[2]

The non-fiction features included a series of articles by Mike Ashley on the

history of science fiction magazines, later expanded into an anthology series. A
series of interviews with authors appeared, each accompanied by one of their
stories, including profiles of Samuel Delany, Harlan Ellison, J. G. Ballard, and
Harry Harrison.[3] Walter Gillings provided articles about established figures in
the field such as Arthur C. Clarke, John Wyndham, A.E. van Vogt, and Olaf
Stapledon,[3] and under the pseudonym "Thomas Sheridan" ran a column called "The
Query Box" in which he answered questions about science fiction.[3][10]
Bibliographic details
Issues of Science Fiction Monthly showing volume/issue number Year Jan Feb
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1974 1/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10 1/11
1975 1/12 2/1 2/2 2/3 2/4 2/5 2/6 2/7 2/8 2/9 2/10 2/11
1976 2/12 3/1 3/2 3/3 3/4
Issues of Science Fiction Monthly, showing volume and issue numbers. The colours
indicate who was responsible for acquiring fiction and non-fiction: blue for Aune
Butt and Penny Grant, yellow for Julie Davis.

The publisher was New English Library, based in London. The magazine never carried
cover dates: the first issue appeared on 30 January 1974, and is usually indexed as
either January or February as a result. The monthly schedule was completely
regular. There were two volumes of twelve issues and a final volume of four issues.
Each issue was tabloid-sized and had 28 pages; the price began at 25p, and went up
to 30p with the October 1974 issue; to 35p in April 1975; to 40p in January 1976,
and to 50p for the last two issues.[1] Patricia Hornsey was editorial director.
Fiction and non-fiction acquisitions were initially the responsibility of Aune Butt
and Penny Grant; Julie Davis took over with the eighth issue. The team responsible
for the look of the magazine was art editor Michael Osborn, art director Cecil
Smith, and designer Jeremy Dixon.[3] New English Library also sold binders for the
magazine; these were dark purple and could hold 12 issues.[11]

An anthology of stories from the first year of the magazine, The Best of Science
Fiction Monthly, appeared in 1975, edited by Janet Sacks and published by NEL.[2]
[3]
References

Ashley (1985), pp. 539–540.

Nicholls, Peter; Parsons, Frank; Ashley, Mike (2018). "Science Fiction Monthly".
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
Ashley (2007), pp. 108–110.
Hansen (2016), p. 299.
Hansen (2016), p. 330.
Kyle (1977), p. 163.
Hansen (2016), pp. 292, 299, 302, 308–310.
"Index: Items by Author: French, Paul". Galactic Central. 28 October 2022. Archived
from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
Hardy (1978), p. 140.
Robinson (1987), p. 140.

Davis, Julie (January 1976). "News". Science Fiction Monthly. 2 (12): 20.

Sources

Ashley, Mike (1985). "Science Fiction Monthly (1974–1976)". In Tymn, Marshall

B.; Ashley, Mike (eds.). Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 539–540. ISBN 978-0313212215. OCLC
10799935.
Ashley, Mike (2007). Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction
Magazines from 1970 to 1980. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-
1846310034.
Hansen, Rob (2016). Then: Science Fiction Fandom in the UK: 1930–1980. Reading,
UK: Ansible Editions. ISBN 978-1326753269.
Hardy, David (1978). "Art & Artists". In Holdstock, Robert (ed.). Encyclopedia
of Science Fiction. London: Octopus Books. pp. 123–141. ISBN 978-0706407563. OCLC
1120420014.
Kyle, David (1977). A Pictorial History of Science Fiction. London: Hamlyn.
ISBN 978-0600381938. OCLC 2837412.
Robinson, Roger (1987). Who's Hugh? An SF Reader's Guide to Pseudonyms.
Liverpool: Beccon Publications. ISBN 978-1870824026. OCLC 21039531.

Categories:

1974 establishments in the United Kingdom1976 disestablishments in the United

KingdomMonthly magazines published in the United KingdomDefunct science fiction
magazines published in the United KingdomMagazines established in 1974Magazines
disestablished in 1976Science fiction magazines established in the 1970sScience
fiction magazines disestablished in the 1970s

This page was last edited on 11 April 2023, at 17:27 (UTC).

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