(Belgium, 1971) is an author, historian and archaeologist, known for his multifaceted contributions to literature and intellectual discourse. He is currently Philosopher Laureate of the Low Countries. Upon his appointment, he published De wereld en de aarde (The World and the Earth, 2025), in which he makes a groundbreaking proposal to radically broaden our thinking—and our politics. For the greatest security issue of our time is not the world with its mutual conflicts, but the earth, which is becoming increasingly disrupted. His oeuvre covers a range of genres, including historical non-fiction, poetry, and theater. Among his best-known works are Congo (2010), about the country's bewildering history, and Revolusi (2020), which places Indonesia's struggle for independence in a global perspective through eyewitness accounts. In addition to his literary work, Van Reybrouck is known as ‘one of Europe's leading intellectuals’ (Tagesspiegel), whose ideas relate to themes such as democracy, climate, and colonialism. He regularly publishes opinion pieces in international publications. 

Go to the website of David Van Reybrouck
Instagram: @david.vanreybrouck

(Netherlands, 1955) won much praise for his books about the njai, women in the Dutch East Indies who lived in concubinage and had children with Dutch men. He debuted in 2006 with the semi-autobiographical novel De ogen van Solo (Solo’s Eyes), dealing with the rootlessness of people from the Dutch East Indies. Gebleekte ziel (Bleached Soul, 2012) is a novel based on historical fact about the son of a Balinese nobleman sent to the Netherlands to be "bleached", to erase his indigenous identity. Daar werd wat gruwelijks verricht (Something Horrible Happened There) is a non-fiction book about the unknown history of slavery in the Dutch East Indies. In 2018 he published the documentary novel Het kind met Japanse ogen (The Child with Japanese Eyes), a personal quest and historical investigation into the life of his father.

(Tilburg, 1960) won the Dick Scherpenzeel prize in 2008 with Het Verdriet van Ambon. Een geschiedenis van de Molukken (The sorrow of Ambon. A history of the Moluccas). The jury decided it had seldom seen ‘such a sound example of travel journalism giving meaning. In her acceptance speech Lingsma criticised the media, who are less and less interested in foreign journalism. Later her book was published in English. After having graduated in Dutch language and literature and communication studies Lingsma first worked with Inter Press Sevice and NPS radio. In 1999 she left for Asia to report on the referendum in East Timor and the war on the Moluccas for among others Amnesty International, the Dutch daily paper AD, Elsevier and CNN. From 2001 to 2002 she worked as a public relations official on the constituent assembly of East Timor. In addition to working as a freelance journalist for the BBC, VPRO and the Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland, she now studies criminology at the Free University in Amsterdam.