(Belgium, 1955) writes widely on wide-ranging topics, from poetry about her late husband Herman de Coninck in Taal zonder mij (Language without Me, 1998) to the struggle of an anorexia patient in her book Ann (2008). The human condition is always central to her extensive oeuvre. Her work also pays a noticeable amount of attention to the female sexual experience. In her novel De waar gebeurde geschiedenis van Victor en Clara Rooze (The True History of Victor and Clara Rooze), Hemmerechts plays with fact and fiction: a writer with writer's block tackles a story of incest to give free reign to her thoughts about writing and literature. Haar Bloed (Her Blood) appeared in 2012, for which she spent time in a hematology ward. In 2014 she caused an uproar with De vrouw die de honden eten gaf (The Woman Who Fed the Dogs), a novel inspired by the Dutroux case. Her latest novel Alles verandert (Everything Changes) closely follows the plot of J.M. Coetzee's In Ongenade (Disgrace), but with a female protagonist. How much does the gender of literary characters determine our view of their actions?

(Belgium, 1984) calls herself a poetic cabaret artist. She makes short films, writes columns, and tours Flanders for her own prime-time programme Het is de moeite (It's Worth the Trouble), which brings poetry to the people. In her poetic cabaret, she pokes fun at traditional poetry readings that make both poets and the public feel uncomfortable. Vanhauwaert studied Language Arts at the Antwerp Conservatory, where she now teaches. She wrote columns for De Morgen and contributed to the cultural programme Bar du Matin on Radio 1. She won the 2011 Female Debut Award for her first volume of poetry, Ik ben mogelijk (I Am Possible). Her second collection from 2014, Wij zijn evenwijdig (We Are Parallel), won the Herman de Coninck Audience Award as well as the 2015 Hugues C. Pernath Prize, and the collection is nominated for the VSB Poetry Award. She was a finalist in both the 2012 World Poetry Slam competition and at the 2014 Leids Cabaret Festival. For Flemish TV she took to the streets in 2014 to acquaint people with poetry in unexpected places.

(Morocco, 1975) is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright and curator. His 1996 debut, Bruiloft aan zee (Wedding By the Sea), was an immediate success. His second novel, De langverwachte (The Long-awaited) won him the prestigious 2003 Libris Literature Award. Benali's subjects vary, but sports and the migrant who never really feels at home are recurring themes. He has written novels about his great passion of running, about his travels, and about migrants' cultural identity (Bad Boy). His work has been published internationally. Recent books include the novel Paradijsvogel boven Hoge Woerd (Bird of Paradise over Hoge Woerd, 2022) and Het andere verhaal (The Other Story, 2022), an essay about his research into 75 years of modern Moroccan art.