(Iraq, 1971) fled his country in 1998 after completing architecture studies, was given asylum in the Netherlands and settled there legally in 2007. Since then he has published poetry, novels and collections of his columns. He received the 2000 El Hizjra literature award and the 2011 Literature Prize of the European Union. In 2013 he published Liever niet, antwoordt de liefde (Maybe Not, Was Love's Reply), an anthology of refreshing love poetry. His novel Hoe ik talent voor het leven kreeg (Two Blankets, Three Sheets) tells of his experiences as an asylum seeker in the Netherlands. Al Galidi published the short story collection Duizend-en-een-nachtmerries (A Thousand and One Nightmares) in 2017 and a poem collection Neem de titel serieus (Take the title seriously) in 2018.

(1957) is director of the Literatuurmuseum in The Hague and chair of the Jan Campert Foundation. He studied Dutch language in Leiden and, as of 1982, worked for the organisation that looks after the national Dutch literary heritage (formerly the Letterkundig Museum). He organised exhibitions about writers such as Remco Campert, Miep Diekmann, and Cees Nooteboom. From 2002 to 2005 he was director of the Haags Historisch Museum/Museum de Gevangenpoort, and afterwards of Stichting Lezen. In 2009 he returned to the Literatuurmuseum as director. Meinderts has publications to his name on writers Anna Blaman, Emmy van Lokhorst and Sonja Witstein. He also wrote Een literaire roadtrip: in 30 dagen langs 100 schrijversgraven (2010), ‘Uit geil en bloed bestaat dit rotte leven!’: Max Kijzer (1893-1944) (2021) en In gekroonde stoeten (2022).

(Rosmalen, NL, 1965) has been the SWDC councillor for urban development, housing, sustainability, and culture for the city of The Hague since 2014. From 1998 to 2014 he was a councillor and floor leader of the Hague City Party. Wijsmuller studied at the Polytechnic Institute for Photography in The Hague and worked at the World Wide Video Centre (the former Kijkhuis), among other jobs.

(Haarlem, NL, 1947) studied law in Groningen, founded the law faculty at the University of Maastricht, and later became its vice-chancellor. In 1993, he briefly held the position of Minister of Eductaion in the Lubbers III cabinet, then became a member of the Senate and Minister of Justice in the Kok II cabinet. In 2001 he took office as Mayor of Amsterdam, with the murder of Theo van Gogh as his blackest hour. Nine years later he was elected leader of the Labour Party, with strong support from its ranks. In 2010 he published his lectures and speeches under the title Binden (Bonds), with a foreword by Bas Heijne. After a tumultuous time he became disillusioned, stepping down as a political leader and member of parliament in early 2012. Cohen now holds positions such as chairman of the OBA's Supervisory Council, special lecturer at the University of Leiden, and chairman of the Foundation for Refugee Students. He grew up in a liberal Jewish family; his paternal grandparents perished in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His father was vice-chancellor of the University of Leiden.

(The Netherlands, 1946) grew up in a family with a past in the Dutch East Indies. He draws on these experiences in several of his works such as My Father's War (1995), Repatriated (2002) and in Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen (2023). Van Dis became well known via his literary television programme Here is... Adriaan van Dis (1983-1992). In addition to novels he has written novellas, travelogues, essays and plays. He presented TV documentary series and his podcast Van Dis Ongefilterd. He has received the Constantijn Huygens Award for his entire body of work. Recent publications are the collection Vijf vrolijke verhalen (2021), the novel KliFi, woede in de republiek Nederland (2022) and the essay De kolonie mept terug: over witte arrogantie en voortschrijdend inzicht: een denkoefening en leesreis (2024). During the Writers Unlimited Festival 2026, Van Dis will be the main interview guest on Saturday afternoon, 24 January, following the publication of his new book Alles voor de reis (Everything for the Journey), and on Sunday morning, 25 January, he and interviewer Simon Dikker Hupkes will record a new episode of his podcast series Van Dis Ongefilterd (Van Dis Unfiltered) live with an audience.

Go to website of Adriaan van Dis

(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.

(Zwolle, NL 1984) is Glenn de Randamie's rapper's name. Typhoon began at age fifteen in Rudeteens, together with his brother Blaxtar and Phreako Rico of Opgezwolle. Three years later the first tracks of his own appeared on Vet verse flows. In 2004 he won the Dutch Grand Prix in the category R&B and Hiphop. A year later he was making tracks for music channel The Box on themes as varied as the division of roles between men and women, homosexuality, religion, money, policies regarding immigrants, top-class sports, ideals and sex. Together with Yes-R he recorded the song Bedankt (Thanks). In 2007 his first solo album was released Tussen licht en lucht (Between light and air). He put his heart and soul into it: “I'm no rapper, call me an expert on experience", he said himself. He likes to explore his boundaries and there are traditional African and Eastern sounds and jazz influences in his music. In 2009 together with four rapper friends he founded the Fakkelbrigade, won the Silver Harp and made an EP with New Cool Collective.

(UK, 1981) grew up in The Hague. At age 15, she wrote a year-long column for the Volkskrant newspaper about school life. These pieces were compiled in Overleven in 4B (Surviving 4B). In 2002 she published her first children's book, Alles kookt over (Everything's Boiling Over). Woltz studied history in Leiden and is now a full-time writer; she has 20 books to her name. She wrote Hondert uur nacht (One Hundred Hours of Night), about a New York girl who survives a hurricane, after she had herself experienced Hurricane Sandy in that city. Together with her father she wrote 2006's Post uit de oorlog (Mail from the War) about the Hunger Winter; he had to make a "hunger trek" to find food during the war. Her 2013 book Mijn bijzonder rare week met Tess (My Super Strange Week with Tess), about a girl who doesn't know her father, was awarded the Flag and Pennant by the Griffel jury. Her books have been translated into English, French, German, Hungarian, Slovenian, Danish, Norwegian, Japanese and Taiwanese.

(The Netherlands, 1970) is a presenter, producer, actor and voice-over artist specializing in music, literature, arts and culture. After graduating as actor from the Toneelschool Amsterdam he was a member, among others, of the ensemble of the Nationale Toneel. He was a presenter at Amsterdam-based broadcaster AT5 and a radio producer with the KRO on national network NPO Radio 1. He narrates audio books, and was shortlisted for the Storytel Award 2019 for Best Audio Book with his reading of Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer's novel Grand Hotel Europa. Until last year, he presented on radio station Sublime the daily morning show Sublime Sunrise, the Instagram poetry programme Sublime Smooth and evening show The Sublime Experience. In 2025 he wrote and hosted the tv-series Kringlopen met Francis on regional Dutch broadcaster NH. Broekhuijsen works for Writers Unlimited as festival curator and presenter.

Go to the website of Francis Broekhuijsen
Instagram: @francisbroekhuijsen

(Belgium, 1976) writes novels, film scripts and plays. Her debut novel Slaap! (Sleep!) was published in 2003, followed by three novels (Reus, Vissen redden, Dertig dagen); four collections of short stories; a collection of journalism pieces, Wakker (Awake, together with photographer Charlie De Keersmaecker); and the graphic novella Tirol Inferno, written in iambic pentameter and rhyme and co-created with illustrator Klaas Verplancke. Her work has been translated into 26 languages and won various prizes, such as the F. Bordewijk Prize, the Opzij Literature Prize, the J.M.A. Biesheuvel Prize, and the NRC Handelsblad Readers Prize. She has also written several plays and film scripts, and worked with various theatre companies, especially Rotterdam-based Wunderbaum. In 2023, she published short stories in Koude soep (Cold Soup) and JIJ (You), an anthology of you-stories. January 2024 will see the premiere of Wunderbaum speel live (online gaat het mis), a theatre production by Wunderbaum with a stage text by Annelies Verbeke.

(Germany, 1943) is a writer, translator and publisher. He has said that his life's goal is to "show people that a day without poetry is a wasted day." The late Michael Zeeman called him "a romantic in the era of cynicism, a lyrical voice of desire." A selection of Krüger's poetry, Voor het onweer (Before the Storm), was published in 2012, translated by his longtime translator Cees Nooteboom. In his introduction, Nooteboom praised Krüger's "utterly unique" voice "that pulls you into an intimacy, parlando poetry of deceptive simplicity that sees and tells much." From 1968 to 2013, Krüger worked for the famous German Carl Hanser publishing house, which he eventually directed. Since 1975, he has been a jury member for the Petrarch Prize for European poets. In 2013 he became President of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts.

(1959) is a composer, arranger and musician whose work blends many influences, including jazz, classical and folk music from all corners of the world. He was composer-in-residence of LOD Music Theatre in Ghent from 1989 to 2013. Among other projects, he created musical theatre productions with actor and director Koen De Sutter and Alain Platel of Les Ballets C de la B. His own folk fanfare Banda Azufaifo and the heartwarming House of Hidden Tunes I & II combine various musical styles, from Mozart to Camarón de la Isla. In 2001 he won the Louis Paul Boon prize for “his social engagement and his bond with mankind, evident in his whole oeuvre.” Three years later he was awarded the Grand Theatre Festival Prize. Van der Harst was the civic composer of Ghent in 2007 and 2008. He has made various CDs, including ones featuring Christmas and New Year songs from different cultures. At the festival, he will play and create music as musician-in-residence, both making and choosing music for various programmes.

(Netherlands, 1964) published, in collaboration with many illustrators, an extensive, highly acclaimed and awarded oeuvre comprising poems, children's and young adult's novels, drama, non-fiction, songs and texts for picture books. He makes podcasts and started the publishing company Blauw Gras. He does not shy away from heavier themes in his work. In 2008 he started the Slash series: books based on true stories of young people who have already been through a lot, with De Gelukvinder (The Luck Finder), about a boy from Afghanistan fleeing the Taliban. In 2020 he initiated Querido Glow, a book series in which young people who identify as queer can recognize themselves. Translations of his works are available in many countries.

(Gambia, 1964) was raised on culture: as of his fifth birthday, he studied to become a kora player. He is a true "jalli" (griot), meaning someone who passes on history though song and music. The Fiscoband, which he founded in 1993, was one of the first groups to combine kora with Western instruments. Kutayeh has lived in the Netherlands since 1996, and has performed at many festivals and venues with his Jalliya Ensemble, such as at the Concertgebouw, Tivoli Vredenburg, Melkweg, Philips Cenrum and the Schiecentrale. Later, he also founded the successful ensembles Jalliyabaa and KoraFusion, in which he frequently collaborates with musicians from all kinds of disciplines. Since 2000 he has given kora lessons at the Amsterdam Conservatory.

(Haarlem, NL, 1966) earned her stripes with her strongly independent and intellectual stance. As a politician she was a staunch advocate of human rights, women's rights, and civil liberties. Since 2011 she has worked as an author, broadcaster, and producer (including the TV series The Political Party). In 2014 she made the documentary series Seks en de zonde (Sex and Sin) with Hassnae Bouazza, about women in the Islamic world. A series on terror with the working title Fout na der oorlog (On the Wrong Side After the War) is in production. In recent years she has been associated with the universities of Tilburg and Utrecht as a guest lecturer. At the request of the government, she led two commissions of inquiry into the state of the semi-public sector, and one into financial irregularities at the University of Amsterdam. She also holds various management positions, including chair of the Supervisory Board of the Weekly Press Group, of the Board of the Dutch Refugee Foundation, and of the 3rd international conference on women's shelters. Since November 2015 she has been president of the Dutch Association of the Disabled. Her autobiography Pluche (Plush), about her years in national politics, will be published in February 2016.