Compact Books

Compact Books was an imprint of Roberts and Vinter (London), publishers of New Worlds magazine. They published detective novels by authors Hank Janson and Hilary Brand (both house names) and a science fiction list edited by Michael Moorcock.

History

They published mostly United Kingdom science fiction writers like John Brunner, Dan Morgan, Kenneth Bulmer and Moorcock himself, together with US writers such as L. Sprague de Camp, Thomas M. Disch, Charles Harness and Judith Merril, many for the first time. They lasted barely two years (1965 to 1966). The imprint ended suddenly with the collapse of Roberts and Vinter's distributor Thorpe and Porter, which also ended their publication of New Worlds. All science fiction titles had covers by novelist Keith Roberts, then the art editor of Compact, as well as deputy editor (essentially the real editor) of the New Worlds companion Science Fantasy/Impulse.

Compact published Moorcock's pseudonymous novels: his Martian sword-and-planet trilogy under the pseudonym Edward P. Bradbury; his Nick Allard comedy thrillers (as Bill Barclay); and a short story collection as James Colvin. The science fiction titles published were a mix between some lesser-known Golden Age science fiction and New Wave authors.