(Deventer, NL, 1961) is a writer, performer and theatre producer. Her 2004 breakthrough came with De laatste dichters (The Last Poets), nominated for the Libris Literature Prize. This novel about the lives of four black Americans who became famous as "The Last Poets" was adapted for theatre. We hadden liefde, we hadden wapens (We Had Love, We Had Weapons), Otten's swirling 2016 novel, is about the life of the black citizen's rights activist Robert F. Williams in America, and about taking a stand for the right to be who you are, regardless of the consequences. Een van ons (One of Us, 2020), her novel about lifelong prisoner Luc was performed as a theatre monologue. In her novel Als ik je eenmaal mijn verhaal heb verteld (Once I told you my story, 2024), Anir tries to build a new life ‘outside’ after 12 years of detention. The Blocknotes Foundation, co-founded by Otten in 2020, uses creative writing for empowerment and talent development of people in prison.

(Belgium, 1947) is a writer and translator. Formerly he was also a journalist and newsreader with the Flemish television journal. He became well known as the author of well-documented books about Belgium and Brussels. In 1989's Het Belgisch labyrint (The Belgian Labyrinth), he analyzes his country of birth with passion and erudition. Mijn Nederland (My Netherlands) appeared in 2005, a response to the request to explain Holland to the desperate Dutch. With 1991's Verhalen van het Heggeland (Stories from Heggeland), but even more so with 1997's Altrapsodie, he made his name as a novelist. In his poetry, he breaks with a society losing itself in "disastrous modernization." In various debates he's stated his belief in a Greater Netherlands, a Benelux, in which the German, French and Dutch languages and cultures would enrich one another. In 2007 his daughter Judith Vanistendael published the graphic novel De maagd en de neger (The Virgin and the Negro), based on a short story of her father's about the love between and economics student and a political refugee from Togo. His collection Het was wat (That Was Something) has been nominated for the 2016 VSB Poetry Prize.

(Curaçao, 1950) is a poet and a literary performer. He studied philosophy and theology in Colombia and The Netherlands. In Utrecht he finished his studies at the Academy of Expression, and became a tutor of dramatic expression. He lives on Curaçao, where he is very active in street theatre, especially with the group Grupo di Teatro Foro of which he was the artistic leader during the seventies and eighties. He produced and presented cultural television programs and trained and became an expert in the field of oral literature and written rhythmic poetry. Bacilio writes about the colonial past, the Indians, the slaves and the dominant and confusing position of the Dutch. But there is also tenderness and eroticism in his work. His poems have been published in various collections and magazines. In 2000 his collection of poems Kueru Marká was published.

(1953, NL Woerden) is a composer, performer and poet. He studied mathematics and musicology but didn't finish his studies. Instead he played the saxophone and started composing. In recitals of poetry and later in improvisations and pieces of his own, he developed his genius as a voice performer. In 2000 he started working with electronics. First on the basis of samples of his own voice, later with pure sound synthesis. Some five years ago, from a renewed interest in mathematics, he started doing research into the possibilities of algorhythmic compositions for the creation of music, visual animation and poetry. As a vocalist Jaap Blonk is unique because of his presence on the stage and his frank improvisations, combined with a sharp sense of structure. He has performed worldwide and worked with many musicians in contemporary and improvised music. Recordings appeared on Staalplaat, Lopl.op, Basta, VICTO and Monotype. His own record label Kontrans has released 17 titles so far.

(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.

(1954, Iran) is the pen name of Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani. Since his debut De Adelaars (The Eagles) in 1993 he has navigated between two worlds, the Netherlands and the country of his birth. Abdolah grew up in a harsh, Islamic region. Since he was twelve he read western literature and caught the scent of freedom. While studying physics in Teheran, he joined a secret leftwing party. In 1980 he published two collections of short stories clandestinely under the name Kader Abdolah. In 1988 he fled Iran and ended up in the Netherlands where he has since published a large body of works consisting of novels, short story collections and collected columns, published under the pen name Mirza in de Volkskrant. In Papegaai vloog over de IJssel (Parrot flew over the IJssel, 2014) four migrant families build a new existence in typically Dutch villages along the river; in Salam Europa (2016) the Shah of Persia travels through Europe late in the 19th century, accompanied by a large following of bickering courtiers.