(Marken, 1958-2009) was a poet, a writer and a commentator, with a regular column on the Forum page and the book pages of the Volkskrant. Zeeman was the editor of the arts section of the Volkskrant and from 2006-2007 its Rome correspondent. In 2006 he and the writer Abdelkader Benali published an exchange of letters, exchanging ideas on politics, life, love and literature. In 2002 Zeeman received the Gouden Ganzenveer (Golden Goose Quill) for his merits for Dutch literature. Zeeman became well-known in the 1990s as the host of his monthly book programme 'Late at night after a short walk', later to be renamed 'Zeeman with books'. In 1991 he published his first volume of poetry, Beeldenstorm (Iconoclasm), winning him the C. Buddingh Prize. His second volume Verhoudingen (Relationships) appeared in 1995. In the same year he published short stories entitled De Verduistering (The Darkening). He died in 2009.

(Amsterdam, 1943) is director of Studium Generale at the University of Utrecht. In 2003 his book De geschiedenis van het denken (The history of thinking)was published. In this book Klukhuhn scetches the history of the sciences, philosophy of science and technology and establishes a connection with general philosophy, literature and visual art. Dr. André Klukhuhn studied physical chemistry at the university of Amsterdam and obtained his doctorate in 1973. In 1993 he made a futile attempt to return his doctorate in protest against the government policy concerning the university. In 1995 his book Sterf oude wereld (Die old world) was published, a predecessor to De geschiedenis van het denken.
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(The Hague, NL 1952) is a jack-of-all-trades. Apart from writing prose and poetry for children and adults, she illustrates and performs. In 2008 and 2009 she was city poet of Antwerp, Belgium. Her illustrated novel Alles Nieuw (Everything New) made it to the shortlist of the 2009 Ako Literature Prize. Van Leeuwen's children's books have been awarded many times with the Zilveren Griffel (Silver Pencil), Gouden Uil (Golden Owl) and the Woutertje Pieterse Prize. Especially her children's book Deesje was translated in many languages and awarded abroad. The power in her work is that she enriches her texts with beautiful illustrations. Van Leeuwen's main characters often walk through life with a gaze of wonderment while at the same time they seem locked by everyday routine. Van Leeuwen’s career began in 1978 when she won the Camaretten (cabaret) festival and published her first children's book. Since then she hes been performing in smaller and bigger productions, combining cabaret, literature and image.

(Morocco, 1976) moved to the Netherlands age six as part of a family reunification scheme and grew up in Berkel-Rodenrijs. When he studied Dutch language and literature he began work on his debut De dagen van Sjaitan (The days of Sjaitan, 2000). The critics were very enthusiastic about this novel in which El Haji puts paid to the hypocrisy of Islam, embodied in the authoritarian father figure. Pieter Steinz (NRC Handelsblad) called the novel ‘the first Islamic novel in Dutch breaking down traditional religious and socio-political barriers’ and likened him to Maarten ’t Hart. In 2006 Goddelijke Duivel (Godly Devil) appeared, in which a writer of Berber descent goes in search of his god. His third novel, De aankondiging (The announcement, 2011) is set in the century before the birth of Islam. The main character is Mutalieb, the prophet Mohammed's grandfather. Mecca in those days was a tolerant town in the periphery of the Byzantine and Persian empires. El Haji's work distinghuishes itself on account of his original points of view, the provoking dilemmas which he raises, good rthythmicity and remarkable composition.

(The Netherlands, 1962) is a Dutch writer, screenwriter and visual artist. She made her debut in 1995 with the collection of short stories Begeerte (Desire), which was nominated for the AKO Literature Prize, the Anton Wachter Prize and the ECI Prize. The title story was awarded the Rabobank Spring Prize for Literature. Her first novel Gemis (1997) was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize. Her most recent book, Vallen is als vliegen (Falling is Like Flying, 2019), was shortlisted for both the 2019 Bookspot Literature Prize and the 2020 Libris Literature Prize. The novel was named the best Dutch-language novel of 2019 by NRC Handelsblad and Humo. Uphoff was editor of the literary magazine De Revisor and board member and president of PEN Netherlands. As a screenwriter, she wrote the feature film screenplay Een Groot Geweld (Topkapi Films).

(Netherlands, 1968) is a classicist and writer. He has more than 40 titles to his name, including poetry, novels, short stories, plays, scientific studies, translations and anthologies. His work has earned many nominations and prizes, including the 2014 Libris Literature Prize for his novel La Superba, an ode to the city of Genoa, where he lives and works. In 2016 he published Brieven uit Genua (Letters from Genoa), an autobiography in letter format and the counterpart to La Superba, which also discusses the publication of the novel. Grand Hotel Europa (2018), a book about love in times of mass tourism, nostalgia, European identity, and a part of the world that has become a museum, was nominated for the 2019 Libris Literature Prize and translated into 10 languages. Pfeijffer never eschews debate, expressing himself in essays, columns and TV programs.

(Den Helder, 1938) writes plays and stories for both children and adults. In Surinam, her father's native country, she was a member of the writers group Moetete (1968), and was the co-founder of the Doe-theater (Do theater) (1970-1983), which after 1973 has grown into the first professional theater company of Surinam. From time to time she also worked for the Surinam television, for which in 1965 she wrote the scenario Grootvaders klok (Grandfather's clock), which was Surinam's first short television film. After having lived in Surinam for 22 years, Thea Doelwijt returned to the Netherlands (native country of her mother) in 1983, and lives and works here now. Doelwijt has written several books. Her most recent book is O sekoer! Help! (2000), a story about a Surinam boy who, together with his grandmother, has an adventure in France. In 2003 the book En toen en toen en toen (And then and then and then) appeared in Surinam. This consiists of a collection of compositions by children, especially written for Thea Doelwijt during the children's book festival in Paramaribo. In 1998 and 2003 Doelwijt revived in Surinam two popular opera's about the slavery period : De Gouden Koe (The golden cow), which was also performed in the Netherlands, and De Diamanten Du (The diamand Du), which will be on tour in the Netherlands in February 2004.
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