Kirkuk, 1974) is an Iraqi-Dutch poet and writer. In 1999 he fled Iraqi Kurdistan because he refused to write propaganda poems for Saddam Hussein's regime. He now lives in Utrecht. He debuted in the Netherlands in 2006 with Op weg naar Ararat (En Route to Ararat), 29 poems about Kurdistan, war and fear, but also about mountains, winter and the desert. His second poetry volume, Lontananza (2009), focuses on his yearning for his native land and for a place in his new homeland. His two identities also feature prominently in his two following collections, Territorium (2011) and Licht onbekend (2013).

(Morocco, 1973) is a journalist, columnist, translator, researcher and producer. She publishes in various media (including Dutch national daily newspaper NRC and women's magazine Linda); runs her own online magazine for culture lovers, Aicha Qandisha. She compiled a story collection about Arab women, Achter de sluier (Behind the Veil, 1999); 2013 saw the publication of her book Arabieren kijken (Looking at Arabs), about "ordinary" people in the Arab world. She made TV programs for various broadcasters, including the documentary series Seks en de Zonde (Sex and Sin). Together with Michelin-starred chef Soenil Bahadoer, she wrote the culinary books Spicy Chef (2020) and Streetfood (2022). She published two further books in 2022: Een koffer vol citroenen (A Suitcase Full of Lemons), a requiem for and portrait of her mother, and Arbeidsmigranten in Nederland (Migrant Labourers in the Netherlands).