(Haarlem, NL, 1980) studied philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. Aynan, the son of Moroccan immigrants, is an active advocate of Berber culture. His debut Veldslag en Andere Herinneringen (Battle and Other Memories) was published in 2007, about his youth or, as he calls it, his "Catholic-Islamic-Berber background". Aynan is the creator of the Berber Library, a series of classics from Berber countries translated into Dutch. He further wrote Ik, Driss  (I, Driss, together with Hassan Bahara), the short-story collection Gebed zonder eind (Endless Prayer, 2014) and Linoleumkoorts (Linoleum Fever, 2019). Aynan works as a teacher at Hogeschool van Amsterdam; his articles have appeared in the NRC, Het Parool, Folia and Trouw.

(Sudan, 1967) wants to hearten his fellow citizens in Sudan with his literary work. His fourth novel, Met Safa komt de herfst (With Safa comes autumn) was published in Dutch in 2010. In it he tries to disentangle the political events of the last 30 years. In his novels, which are often reminiscent of the great Latin American magical realists, Al Malik incorporates folklore and myths. He sees it his task to explain to his readers that tolerance and the ability to live together with other cultures are the real core of Islam. By the end of the 1990s he fled to the Netherlands. Before that he studied in Khartoum, where he published in various newspapers. After his studies he worked as a teacher. After the 1989 coup it became increasingly difficult for Al Malik to work in freedom. His first novella was seized owing to its critical stance vis-a-vis the regime. His three other novels were published in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon respectively. Currently Al Malik lives in Amsterdam.

(Iraq, 1971) fled his country in 1998 after completing architecture studies, was given asylum in the Netherlands and settled there legally in 2007. Since then he has published poetry, novels and collections of his columns. He received the 2000 El Hizjra literature award and the 2011 Literature Prize of the European Union. In 2013 he published Liever niet, antwoordt de liefde (Maybe Not, Was Love's Reply), an anthology of refreshing love poetry. His novel Hoe ik talent voor het leven kreeg (Two Blankets, Three Sheets) tells of his experiences as an asylum seeker in the Netherlands. Al Galidi published the short story collection Duizend-en-een-nachtmerries (A Thousand and One Nightmares) in 2017 and a poem collection Neem de titel serieus (Take the title seriously) in 2018.

(Suriname, 1962) published his first volume of poetry, Bapauti/Erfenis (Bapauti/Heritage) in 2008, an elaboration of the songs on his album Kantráki/Contract Labourer. The collection Tihá/Troost (Tihá/Comfort) followed in 2011 with lyrics from his pop album Daayra. The singer, poet and composer -- with parental roots in India, born in Suriname, and living in The Netherlands -- deals with societal themes and with subjects that are taboo within Hindustani and Indian circles. Mohan writes in Sarnámi, the mother tongue of the Hindustani in Suriname and the Netherlands. He is founder and artistic director of musical groups like the Raj Mohan Ensemble, Vistar and Shai'rana, with which he tours at home and abroad. He plays and sings compositions based on his own lyrics and on poems by contemporary Urdu poets in the (lightly) classical tradition of Northern India.

(Nigeria, 1974), a writer and literary scholar, lived in Belgium for years and moved to the US in 2013 where she teaches Creative Writing at the University of Georgia. Besides novels she also writes poetry, children's books, educational books and short stories. In 2005 she debuted as a novelist with De feniks (The Phoenix), a portrait of a young Nigerian in Belgium who struggles with feelings of depression and uprooting after the death of her five-year-old son. This was followed by the novels On Black Sisters' Street (2011, the original version in Dutch was published as Fata Morgana in 2008) about four Nigerian women who end up as sex workers in Antwerp, Nachtdanser (Night Dancer, 2011) and De zwarte messias (The Black Messiah, 2013). In 2019, her collection of short stories Better Never than Late, about the unusual lives and relationships of a group of Nigerian immigrants making their way in Belgium, appeared. Her new novel The Middle Daughter will be published in April 2023.

(1980) has been playing the guitar for almost 20 years and has been a teacher for 10. Most people know him from his time with the Dutch language nu metal band Van Katoen. In addition he busies himself among other things with dreamlike music by People You Know (formerly Sneakerfreak). He also produced an album with singer/lyricist Raj Mohan. In 2004 he graduated from the Utrecht Conservatory.