Born in Australia, Lovat Dickson departed with his parents at age seven, first to then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and later to an English boarding school. At fifteen, he went to Canada to work in a mining camp: while here, he founded his first newsletter. After obtaining two degrees at the University of Alberta, he returned to England to work in the publishing industry.
Historically, Lovat Dickson is remembered as a Canadian publisher, rather than as an Australian.