(Oirschot, 1957) from 1983 to 1987 he worked in Surinam. Van Kempen is the compiler of two extensive anthologies: Spiegel van de Surinaamse poëzie (Mirror of the Surinamese Poetry) (1995) and Mama Sranan. 200 jaar Surinaamse verhaalkunst (Mama Sranan, 200 Years of Surinamese Storytelling) (1999). In 1997 his first novel, Plantage Lankmoedigheid (Plantation Patience) appeared. He also published: Het Nirwana is een lege trein (Nirvana is an Empty Train) (2000) and Pakistaanse nacht (Pakistani Night) (2002). In 2002 he obtained his doctorate with his thesis Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur (A history of Surinamese literature). His anthology Noordoostpassanten (Northeast Transients), which he compiled together with Wim Rutgers, was presented at the Winternachten festival in 2005. In 2006 he published the novel Escape Routes.

(1959, Surinam) left for the Netherlands to educate and develop herself. There she attended secondary school and followed that with higher vocational education. In 1982 Simons returned to Surinam. Here she began to write for the magazine De Tweede Ronde (The second round), the newspaper De Ware Tijd (The real time) and various other papers. In her story In naam van God en Obia (In name of God and Obia) Simons sketches in a beautiful, clear manner, a family drama. She received for this book in 2002 the Kwakoe Literature prize. This prize is actually connected to the similarely named multi-cultural Kwakoe festival in the Netherlands. She made her debut in December 2003 with the collection of stories Carrousel (Roundabout), published by the Surinamese publishers Okopipi. Marylin writes about ordinairy people of Surinam. People that she comes across on the street, in bus 9, along Paramaribo's Waterside, on the plantation and in the waiting rooms of hospitals. 'It's the ordinairy people', says Marylin, 'that provide the ingredients for an unusual story'.
WIN 2004

(Den Helder, 1938) writes plays and stories for both children and adults. In Surinam, her father's native country, she was a member of the writers group Moetete (1968), and was the co-founder of the Doe-theater (Do theater) (1970-1983), which after 1973 has grown into the first professional theater company of Surinam. From time to time she also worked for the Surinam television, for which in 1965 she wrote the scenario Grootvaders klok (Grandfather's clock), which was Surinam's first short television film. After having lived in Surinam for 22 years, Thea Doelwijt returned to the Netherlands (native country of her mother) in 1983, and lives and works here now. Doelwijt has written several books. Her most recent book is O sekoer! Help! (2000), a story about a Surinam boy who, together with his grandmother, has an adventure in France. In 2003 the book En toen en toen en toen (And then and then and then) appeared in Surinam. This consiists of a collection of compositions by children, especially written for Thea Doelwijt during the children's book festival in Paramaribo. In 1998 and 2003 Doelwijt revived in Surinam two popular opera's about the slavery period : De Gouden Koe (The golden cow), which was also performed in the Netherlands, and De Diamanten Du (The diamand Du), which will be on tour in the Netherlands in February 2004.
WIN2003