Michael Hall was a major figure in Canadian fandom, having been particularly active from the 1970s-1980s. The fanzines he edited included Schmagg, Laid, New Wave Video Snacks, Schamgg Monthly, and Excuses, Excuses. He was also a founding editor of The Monthly Monthly, which ran from 1979-1980 (plus an additional Bimonthly Monthly which lasted until December 1980/January 1981).

Hall was a native of western Canada, having been born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from which he moved to Edmonton in 1979, and finally to Fort McMurray, AB in 1994. From 2004-2008 he was the managing editor there of Fort McMurrary Today, the local newspaper.

Chester Cuthbert was a noted and active SF fan in Winnipeg, where his house was often the center of fannish gatherings and activities. As a young man, he wrote two science fiction stories that were both published in Hugo Gernsback's Wonder Stories in 1934, and he had an additional story published in Return to Wonder in 1969. His SF book collection was large and well-known, and in 2007 he donated its 60,000 volumes to the University of Alberta.