Rodney Hall was born on 18 November 1935 in Solihull, Warwickshire, England. Came to Australia after the Second World War, studied at the University of Queensland and graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts. Australian writer, book and film reviewer, actor, editor. Winner of the Miles Franklin Award. Appointed Member of Order of Australia in 1990. Received a Doctor of Letters honoris causa from the University of Queensland in 2003.

Marianne Martha Hedwig Ehrhardt was born in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany, on 25 October 1931 and educated at Bedford College in London, England. She worked at the University of Queensland Library from 1967 to 1996, mainly at the Reference Desk and Fryer Library. During a period she was in charge of bibliographic services in the University of Queensland Library. Ehrhardt was also involved in the acquisition of the Father Edward Leo Hayes collection in 1967.