(Amsterdam, NL, 1963) studied Dutch language and literature in Amsterdam. He writes reviews, interviews, columns and obituaries, and heads the books section of De Volkskrant newspaper. In 2011 he published Eindelijk Sneeuw (Snow at Last: twelve wintry stories about artists, writers, and books, from Willem Witsen's cityscapes to the tears of Mrs. Dickens). Exerpts from his reviews and interviews were published in the books Langzaam lopen is al verdacht (Walking Slowly is Suspicious, 1999), De ongeneeslijke lezer – een werkboek (The Incurable Reader: a workbook, 2002), Het woord is aan de schrijver (The Writer Has the Floor, 2005), and De Broodschrijver (The Hack, 2006), about Bart Chabot's biography of Herman Brood. In 2012 he published Kreten uit een urn (Cries from an Urn), a lecture on the role of the critic in our time. His text "Naar boven mit Brakman" ("Up With Brakman") accompanied the 2015 unveiling of the Brakman monument in Enschede.

(Belgium, 1984) calls herself a poetic cabaret artist. She makes short films, writes columns, and tours Flanders for her own prime-time programme Het is de moeite (It's Worth the Trouble), which brings poetry to the people. In her poetic cabaret, she pokes fun at traditional poetry readings that make both poets and the public feel uncomfortable. Vanhauwaert studied Language Arts at the Antwerp Conservatory, where she now teaches. She wrote columns for De Morgen and contributed to the cultural programme Bar du Matin on Radio 1. She won the 2011 Female Debut Award for her first volume of poetry, Ik ben mogelijk (I Am Possible). Her second collection from 2014, Wij zijn evenwijdig (We Are Parallel), won the Herman de Coninck Audience Award as well as the 2015 Hugues C. Pernath Prize, and the collection is nominated for the VSB Poetry Award. She was a finalist in both the 2012 World Poetry Slam competition and at the 2014 Leids Cabaret Festival. For Flemish TV she took to the streets in 2014 to acquaint people with poetry in unexpected places.