Born in Moose Jaw in 1941 and raised in Saskatoon, Robert Lorin Calder is a lifelong resident of Saskatchewan. Having taken a B.A. (1964) and M.A. (1965) at the University of Saskatchewan and a PhD. at the University of Leeds (1970), he was the longest-serving (45 ½ years) member of the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan, and at 38, was also the youngest Department Head in its history. Additionally, he served as the Acting Head of the Music Department and as the first Associate Dean of Fine Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Science.
Calder is the author or editor of eleven books, most of which have been published internationally – in the U.K., the United States, Japan, and Russia. He was the first writer in the history of Saskatchewan to have a book published by an international trade publisher (William Heinemann Ltd) while residing in the province. His "Willie: the Life of W. Somerset Maugham," for which he was awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award, and twenty-three article and reviews, made him recognized as the leading authority in the world on Maugham. In 2005, he was given the University of Saskatchewan’s Distinguished Researcher Award, and in 2011 he was selected among the first hundred College of Arts and Science Alumni of Influence.
Calder has been an active member of the Saskatchewan writing community, serving as President of the Sage Hill Writing Experience, the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild, and The Word on the Street Saskatoon (of which he is a founding member). He was instrumental in the creation of the Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence, and the innovative Master of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Saskatchewan. In addition to the Governor General’s Literary Award, he has won two Saskatchewan Book Awards, and has twice won the John V. Hicks Manuscript Award. In 2018 he was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.

Holly Borgerson Calder is an Honours English graduate from the University of Saskatchewan. She worked as a court reporter and as a bookseller of rare and out-of-print books. She has published poetry. She has served on the Board of Directors of Sage Hill Writing Experience and of Saskatoon's Word on the Street Festival.