(The Netherlands, 1968) is a philosopher, writer and professor of Public Understanding of Science at Leiden University where he lectures about artificial intelligence and ethics. His books deal with the interface between philosophy and science; like no other, he knows how to make complex subjects accessible to large groups of readers. His debut Kaas en de Evolutietheorie (Cheese and the Theory of Evolution), awarded the Golden Owl for children's literature, uses examples to explain the true meaning of the theory. Since then he published, among others, De ijzeren wil (The Iron Will, about the brain, consciousness and thinking machines), Voor een echt succesvol leven (For a Truly Successful Life), Plastic pandas about disappearing nature, Waarom cola duurder is dan melk (Why cola is more expensive than milk), with jargon-free answers to basic economic questions, and Kunstmatige intelligentie is niet eng (Artificial Intelligence Isn't Scary).

(Doetinchem, NL, 1958) is a highly versatile writer who constantly changes up his work. Sometimes his tone is serious, as in Schaduwkind (Shadow Child, 2003), about the death of his young daughter. This bestseller was translated into more than fifteen languages. In 2009's  J. Kessels, The Novel he channels an altogether different voice. A semi-parody of the hard-boiled crime novel, it features one of Thomése’s favourite recurring characters, J. Kessels, living it up a he smokes cigarettes and devours deep-fried meatballs. The book was made into a film in 2015, starring Frank Lammers and Fedja van Huêt. De onderwaterzwemmer (The Underwater Swimmer, 2015) about the life Tin, who as a child loses his father on a dark night in wartime, shows that only man himself can alter his destiny. In 1991 Thomése won the AKO Literature Prize for Zuidland (Southland), and in 2012, the Bob den Uyl Prize for Grillroom Jeruzalem.

(The Netherlands, 1960) is a literary critic, writer, curator, interviewer, debate leader and "ambassador between France and the Netherlands in the field of literature", as a French ambassador once said. She has been writing about literature for some 30 years, mainly for the NRC daily. She published books on French and European literature, on Hella S. Haasse and Cees Nooteboom. Her In de voetsporen van mijn grootvader (2021) is an autobiographical search for her literary genes. Before that, she published Met Parijse pen. Literaire omzwervingen (in collaboration with photographer Bart Koetsier, 2020), which takes readers to Paris for walks in the footsteps of famous Dutch and French writers. She was joint artistic curator of the Netherlands' Guest of Honour role at the 2024 Leipzig Book Fair with German journalist Bettina Baltschev.

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