Amos Oz (Israel, 1939-2018) is regarded worldwide as one of the greatest contemporary writers and considered a candidate for the Nobel Prize. He made his debut in 1965 aged 22 with the collection of short stories Where the Jackals Howl. It was followed by a massive oeuvre, translated into 37 languages. His novels include My Michael, A Perfect Peace, Black Box, To Know a Woman, Fima, Don't Call it Night and The Same Sea. In 2002 his autobiographical novel A Tale of Love and Darkness appeared, which became a worldwide bestseller. In 2007 the fairy tale Suddenly in the Depth of the Forest and the novel Rhyming Life and Death appeared. It was followed by the collection of short stories Scenes from Village Life. His most recent book is the kibbutz situated Between Friends. Amos Oz has received countless international awards, including the Prix Fémina, the Israel Prize, the Friedespreis des Deutschen Buchhandels, the Prix France Culture and the Goethe Prize. Mr Oz lived in Arad and taught literature at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva.
He died in december 2018.

(Netherlands, 1961) is a writer, journalist and, since 2012, Editor-in-Chief of the literature section of NRC newspaper. He studied history and Russian at the University of Amsterdam. Krielaars has written novels, a short-story collection, and various books about Russian history. Het brilletje van Tsjechov (Through Chekov's Glasses) was published in 2014, a report of his travels through Russia in the footsteps of the famous author. His book Reizen door Rusland (Travels through Russia) earned high praise and won the 2015 Bob den Uyl Prize. Alles voor het moederland (Everything for the Mother Country, 2017) tells about Stalin's reign of terror in the times of Isaak Babel and Vasili Grossman.