Void Publications, a specialist science fiction press, was founded in Melbourne in 1974 by Paul Collins. The first novel to be published was not science fiction, however, but a western by Collins titled, Hot Lead, Cold Sweat (1975). According to Sean McMullen, Collins, then aged 18, established Void to make a bit of money to support himself while wrote his own stories.
After publishing his western, Collins launched the science fiction magazine Void : Science Fiction and Fantasy, with the first issue appearing in the week leading up to the 1975 World SF Convention (held in Melbourne in August). It contained original stories by Jack Wodhams and A. Bertram Chandler, as well as reprints by overseas authors that Collins had bought from an American agency. The May 1976 issue included the first Ditmar Award nominee from an SF small press, Chandler's Kelly Country. Void came out twice a year, until it was replaced by the Worlds: Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology series in 1978.
Void began publishing science fiction novels in 1980 under the similarly named series title Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy. The first release was Jack Wodhams' Looking For Blücher, followed by David J. Lake's The Fourth Hemisphere and Wynne Whiteford's first novel Breathing Space Only. All three nominated at the 1981 Ditmar Awards. That same year Collins formed a new publishing venture with artist Rowena Cory. The first title to be released by Cory and Collins was the anthology Distant Worlds (1981). Although Void had been effectively closed down, its trademark continued to appear on the spine of all subsequent publications. Sean McMullen
records that from the 17 novels and anthologies published by Void and Cory and Collins, 12
titles garnered Ditmar nominations, with one going to win an award. Collins was himself also nominated
twice for Best Editor. 'Four novels and over two dozen stories were
republished overseas, and when Collins finally remaindered his
outstanding stock and wound up the company, cash inflow had exceeded
outflow to leave an overall profit.' He further notes that although
short-lived Void/Cory and Collins 'helped establish high fantasy in Australia, and at a
time when it was still only emerging in the US. Collins himself had his
first fantasy stories published in the US magazine Weirdbook in 1977'("Suffering," n. pag.).
