 In 1955 he married Helen Mary Matthews and settled in Chiswick, the first of their three children being born the following year.He made his science fiction debut in 1956 with two short stories, "Escapement" and "Prima Belladonna", published in the December 1956 issues of "New Worlds" and "Science Fantasy" respectively.The editor of "New Worlds", Edward J. Carnell, would remain an important supporter of Ballard's writing and would publish nearly all of his early stories.