(Morocco, 1958) in 2013 won  the Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle for his collection of short stories The Curious Case of Dassoukine's Trousers. Since his debut in 1996 humor has been his weapon against intolerance, both in his novels and in his other work. In his fiction, such as the collection of short stories Poldermarokkanen (2010), the novels Une année chez les Français (2011) and La femme la plus riche de Yorkshire (2011), Laroui describes time and again the collision between North African culture and Western culture. Laroui grew up in Casablanca and studied econometry, mathematics, physics and architecture in Paris. He lectures French literature and Arab culture at the University of Amsterdam.

(The Hague, NL, 1951) is a sinologist, japanologist, journalist and writer. Asian culture, democracy, religion, politics, Islamic fundamentalism, and the aftermath of World War II are returning subjects in his vast body of work. His essays have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, NRC and The New York Review of Books. Buruma grew up in The Hague, the child of a British mother and a Dutch father. His book Their Promised Land: My grandparents in times of love and war tells the story of his London-born, German-Jewish grandparents. He has been a professor of democracy, human rights and journalism in New York since 2003. He received the Erasmus Prize in 2008.

(Amsterdam, 1971) travelled to Egypt at age 24 to do research among Egyptian contemporaries. That not only earned him a degree in religious anthropology, but also his debut, Een goede man slaat soms zijn vrouw (A Good Man Sometimes Hits his Wife). It was an instant success and Volkskrant and Radio 1 Journaal asked him to become a correspondent in the Arab World. Later he also worked for NRC Handelsblad and NOS. During his stay he wrote Een tipje van de sluier (A Corner of the Veil) and after his return to the Netherlands in 2003 Het zijn net mensen (People Like Us), on his experiences as a correspondent. Meanwhile Luyendijk has shifted his attention elsewhere: Dutch politics and sustainability. His latest book, Je hebt het niet van mij, maar…Een maand aan het Binnenhof (Don’t mention my name, but… A Month in Parliament), caused a great deal of controversy in Dutch journalist circles. Joris Luyendijk took a closer look at the bell-jar world of Dutch politics. With some amazement he describes how close the link between journalists, lobbyists, public relations officials and politicians is. In 2006 and 2007 Luyendijk hosted the tv interview programme Zomergasten (Summer Guests) and in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Wintergasten (Winter Guests). Since March 2010 he is one of the regular hosts of the late night radio current affairs programme Met het oog op morgen (With a View to Tomorrow).

(1975) studied English language and literature and social geography at the University of Amsterdam. Subsequently she worked as a translator of scripts for film production companies and as a copywriter for art institutions such as the Theater Instituut Nederland. In 2001 she became allround editor for de Volkskrant writing among others things on the multicultural society, the media, economics and art. She wrote several articles for the series 'What is leftwing?' published by Meulenhoff. She is on the board of the international filmfestival Africa in the Picture.