From its beginnings as a fanzine before World War II, New Worlds struck out on a different path. In the postwar years, under the editorial direction of Michael Moorcock, the magazine published more award-winning stories than any other science fiction publication; it achieved a unique cross-fertilization between sci-fi and mainstream literature and became the vanguard of the "New Wave" writing that stood sci-fi on its head in the 1960s. It was banned, it received grants, and it became the subject of debate in the Houses of Parliament. Moorcock introduced a broad readership to writers whose names would endure, such as Samuel Delany, M. John Harrison, J. G. Ballard, D. M. Thomas, Harlan Ellison, Brian Aldiss, Fritz Leiber, John Brunner, Norman Spinrad and many others.