(1966) is a cabaret artist and a musician. With a full evening's entertainment Manuel proves himself a committed, provocative cabaret artist, his dialect being an extra asset. Social wrongs are dealt with with harsh jokes, leading to some members of the audience leaving the theatre. At the moment he tours the country with the programme Burger (Citizen), dealing with the ‘deplorable State of the Netherlands and How It Could Come This Far’. Since 1985 he has performed with the socially critical band 'Fratsen'. In 1990 he won the Camaretten festival and the chief award of the Leids Cabaret Festival. His first big show was called Ik wil een beest in bed (I want an Animal in Bed) 1990. Nationwide he won acclaim with his show Krang (1997). In 2004 his book The Tragic Demise of the Dutchman as We Knew Him appeared, a comical indictment against the royal family, the United States, veganistic Marxists and religion.

(1944, Amsterdam) used to be a jazz musician, but followed an imam training in Turkey. As an expert on islam Van Bommel published various books, amon others Having a Laugh with Those Muslims (2007), Islam and Women's Rights (2005) and Islam, Love and Sexuality (2003). A Dutch paper wrote of the last book: ‘Van Bommel stands up for the equality of man and woman and frees sex from its taboos. ….] Yet his book is a clear sign that there is movement in Islamic thought. Van Bommel often mediates between muslims and non-muslims and plays an important role in the interfaith dialogue in the Netherlands. He was imam of a mosque in The Hague, director of the Nederlandse Moslim Omroep besides working as a spiritual counsellor.

(1937, Sudan) is a journalist, a playwright, a novelist and writes children's books. In 2004 Basta, together with other Arab writers not living in the Arab world, started a small publishing house, Muhajiroun, to give Arab writers the possibility to publish their work without the problems they experiernce in the Arab world. The book The Ostrich Egg, the Dutch translation appeared in 2001, got him the title ‘Egyptian author of the year’. This autobiographical book relates about his journeys to Sudan and Egypt and about his prison years, owing to his involvement in leftwing student resistance. Basta’s love of women forms the leitmotiv of the story. He worked as a journalist in Egypt and Lebanon and as s director for Iraqi television. He was director of the publishing house Dar Shondi in Cairo. Since 1990 Basta has been living in the Netherlands, working for Radio Nederland.

(The Netherlands, 1941) is a satirist and writer. Already in his school days he formed a cabaret duo with Wim de Bie, who died in 2023. They gained great fame, influence and popularity as satirists in The Netherlands, first on the radio and, as of 1965, on TV. From the mid-1960s onward, Van Kooten published works such as Treitertrends, short satirical pieces in the Haagse Post, and bestselling short-story collections. The successful collections Modermismen and Meer modermismen followed in the 1980s. In 1998, Van Kooten stopped appearing on television. His children's book Het Schaampaard (The Shameless Horse) was published in 1999. The anthologies Karrevrachten pennevruchten (2017) and Sterk verdund (2018) are describe as "witty and pointed, with an insane pleasure in language, touching and awkward in doses, but above all, irresistibly funny."

(Bussum, 1963) as a stand-up comedian, tv maker and writer likes to mop the floor with – in his eyes – often stupid politicians and journalists. In 2009 he began his own talk show with VPRO, Heerlijk, eerlijk Heertje (delicious, honest Heertje). In this programme he showed that many seemingly spontaneous processes in tv programmes are actually precooked. In 1990 Heertje introduced the stand-up comedy in the Netherlands with the launch of the Comedytrain. He is also the initiator of Comedy Café Toomler in Amsterdam. Heertje is especially known as team captain of the tv programme Dit was het Nieuws (the Dutch version of Have I got news for you) cooperating sincs 1995. In addition he writes. He wrote columns and interviews for among others Vrij Nederland, Sportweek, NRC Handelsblad and Het Parool, which were published in book form. In 2009-2010 he made the VPRO programme Wintergasten (Winter guests). Raoul Heertje also performed in foreign comedy clubs and was a guest in various foreign tv programmes, such as Ruby Wax’ show. Right now he is working on a new book Circus Nederland (Circus the Netherlands), on the media and manipulation, which will appear in 2011.