(Morocco, 1975) is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright and curator. His 1996 debut, Bruiloft aan zee (Wedding By the Sea), was an immediate success. His second novel, De langverwachte (The Long-awaited) won him the prestigious 2003 Libris Literature Award. Benali's subjects vary, but sports and the migrant who never really feels at home are recurring themes. He has written novels about his great passion of running, about his travels, and about migrants' cultural identity (Bad Boy). His work has been published internationally. Recent books include the novel Paradijsvogel boven Hoge Woerd (Bird of Paradise over Hoge Woerd, 2022) and Het andere verhaal (The Other Story, 2022), an essay about his research into 75 years of modern Moroccan art.

(Netherlands, 1988) is known for his poetic skills, verses, stories, metaphors and spoken word. He writes "wrap-ups" on demand, writing live at events to bring them to a close in rhyme. Otte has published two collections of poetry: Regelgeving (Regulations, 2015) and TOFLOF (2017). He teaches spoken word at the Rotterdam art school (which he himself left prematurely), was the 2017-18 poet laureate of Rotterdam, and founded the Rorschach publishing house for young and controversial talent. His work is characterized by a combination of accessibility and layering. Major themes are love that doesn't quite work out and the ins and outs of the big city. Incisiveness, openness and humor alternate at high tempo.