(USA, 1972) is the author of the story collection Farewell Navigator: Stories (2008) and the novel The Listeners (2012). Red Clocks, a book in the spirit of Margaret Atwood about four women living in an imaginary America where abortion is illegal, single mothers may not adopt, and there are further political regulations hostile to women. She has commented that the "frightening details of the misogynist world in which her story takes place are inspired by actual legislative proposals of men who at this moment have power in the government" (The Washington Post). Many are asking themselves when her fictional vision of the US will become reality. Besides writing, Zumas teaches writing at Oregon State University in Portland.

(Egypt, 1978) won the first prize in the Emerging Writers category of the Sawiris Cultural Award for his debut novel Kawkab Anbar (Amber Planet, 2010). In 2012 he published the novel Year of the Dragon. His latest nove Otared (2015) is situated in near-future Cairo. The titular character - a police officer and sniper - embarks on a new career when he joins the underground resistance after his country is invaded by foreign mercenaries. The New York Times wrote: 'More than just a portrait of a bleak future, this novel is of course a trenchant critique of modern Egypt.'

(Netherlands, 1986) is a successful musician, author and journalist. She debuted as a novelist with Concept M (2018). This well-received sci-fi novel takes place in the Netherlands in 2020. A young woman makes sense in a surprising way of her condition of colourlessness, a chronic disease that has grown to epidemic proportions in Europe. She radicalizes and ends up in an organization that carries out attacks. Romeijn has performed as a pop-music artist at festivals such as Lowlands and Noorderslag. With her beats, razor-sharp lyrics and analog synthesizers, she's the uncrowned queen of Dutch-language electropop. Her album M, the soundtrack to her novel and her first self-produced record, was released in 2019, followed in 2020 by her debut poetry collection Leegstand (Vacancy). In 2021 she released the album Godzilla and published 7B, another sci-fi novel set in the year 2040 in Groningen, where military personnel train in a huge complex for a war over natural resources.

(India, 1984) is a writer, critic and translator. She is editor of Extra Extra Magazine and teaches in the Creative Writing department at Artez University of the Arts. She writes regularly on literature (including for De Groene Amsterdammer, NRC and De Nederlandse Boekengids) and has published translations, essays and fiction.