is a trans woman refugee from Mexico who fled transphobia and violence. In The Netherlands she works toward a better life for trans persons, and especially for trans persons of colour -- with or without papers. She has established a language centre, organized symposiums and co-authored research reports, all to improve the position of trans refugees. She received the 2023 Winq Community Award for her work and the Harper's Bazaar Woman of the Year Award 2024, Ortiz wrote the autobiographical De waarheid zal me bevrijden (The Truth Will Free Me, 2022) about her youth, her life as a transgender woman, her quest for a safe place to be herself, and her asylum application process in The Netherlands. It was selected as one of ten  Dutch rainbow-books, and was nominated for the Opzij Literatuurprijs 2023.

(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.