(Indonesia) has a Dutch mother and an Indonesian father. After she was educated in Indonesia, she graduated from Tourism Schools in Switzerland and the USA. She began her career as a Public Relations Manager in a hotel in Bali, as well as facilitator in various inhouse training programmes. She now studies Business Administration in Bandung (Indonesia). She writes poetry and short stories in Indonesian and English, published in a number of newspapers and cultural journals. Anak-Anak Vampir (2003) is her first collection of poetry. The English translation will be published shortly. She describes her work as follows: "I think that I have unconsciously written many idyls, odes, lyrical poetry and satire. Everything can be a subject for my work: the toothbrush in the bathroom or the death of my grandmother, my early memories of 'dancing on a graveyard', or how I detest houserules. I have written about 25 poems about female roles and characteristics in the cultural and tourism industry."

(Algeria, 1981)) is a young poet, publishing in Arab newspapers and on websites, in addition to taking part in literary festivals. So far she has published one volume, entitled I forgot my bag as usual. She has been attending a French school for two years and lived in Ireland for one year. There she got acquainted with the poetry of Keats, whom she has admired ever since. Saidi studied computer science at the University of Algiers and since 2004 has been working for a French aid organisation.

(1977, Egypt) is a poet and political scientist. He is the only son of the Egyptian writer Radwa Ashour and the Palestine poet Mourid Al-Barghouti. Al-Barghouti is working on a publication on political identity in the Middle East and since 2007 has worked at the University of Berlin as a reseach assistant. He has published four books of poetry: Meejana (1999), Al-Manzar (2000), Qaluli Bethebb Masr (2005) and Maqam Iraq (2005). His poems regularly appear in daily papers and magazines in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. His poems have won Al-Barghouti various prizes, including the poetry prize of the Regional Cultural Foundation in Marrakesh, Morocco. Characteristic for Al-Barghouti’s style is the use of various dialects in his poems, thus he combines Palestinian, Egyptian and Iraqi dialects in combination with Modern Standard Arabic. After his study in politicfal science and international relations he worked some time for the United Nations in New York and Sudan.

(1973) is a "hyper-aware poet" (Piet Gerbrandy, Volkskrant). Her 2004 debut zoekt vaas (looks for vase) was nominated for the C. Buddingh Prize. According to the jury, she writes "enigmatic poems from which words and sometimes even entire phrases seem to have disappeared. [...] A stubborn language that one doesn't often hear and that does not leave one in peace." Her second collection, resistent (resistant, 2006) was followed by De Deugende Cirkel, gedichten en knipsels voor kinderen (The Virtuous Circle: poems and cut-outs for children, 2010). She also creates video installations in collaboration with visual artist Ine Lamers. In 2019, her poetry collection Het jaagpad op en af (Up and down the towpath) will be published.

(South Africa, 1969) is the author of The Dream in the Next Body (Kwela/Snailpress, 2005), The Museum of Ordinary Life (DaimlerChrysler, 2005), and A Hundred Silences (Kwela/Snailpress, 2006). In 2005 she received the DaimlerChrysler Award for South African Poetry and held the Guest Writer Fellowship at the Nordic Africa Institute, the second person after Ama Ata Aidoo to receive this honour. Her poetry appears in the anthologies Worldscapes (Oxford University Press, 2005), Ten Hallam Poets (Mews Press, 2005), Voices from All Over (Oxford University Press, 2006) and Birds in Words (Umuzi/Random House, 2006). Her poetry has been published in journals in South Africa, the United States and Britain, and in translation in Karavan (Stockholm) and Adamar (Madrid). Her fiction appears in Chimurenga magazine and Twist, a short story anthology (Oshun, 2006). Gabeba is also a scholar, and has written for the media.

(Iraq, 1968) studied both western music (classical guitar) in England and eastern music (ud and qanun) in Iraq. In addition to playing the guitar, the ud and the qanun he is a composer in his own right, working with the group Melike, of which bass player Henk de Laat is also a member.

Bass player Henk de Laat studied at the Rotterdam Conservatorium and has played with, among others, Shirley Bassey and Denise Jannah. Right now he is a member, with Osama Abdulrasol, of the group Melike.

(1970) is a critic who studied Dutch language and literature. She used to work for Volkskrant and nowadays reviews French literature and Dutch non-fiction for NRC Handelsblad. She publishes essays an criticism in among others De Gids, Literatuur, Parmentier, Raster and Yang. In 2005 she wrote her Ph. D. dissertation on the typographical white modern poetry, published in 2006 entitled Leegte die ademt (Breathing Emptiness). In addition to writing journalistic work she lectures contemporary Dutch literature at the University of Amsterdam.

(Utrecht, NL 1980) during her training at a creative writing school Perquin worked as a warder in a Rotterdam prison. She made her debut in 2007 with the collection of poetry Servetten Halfstok Napkins Half-mast, which was nominated for the C. Buddingh’ Prize and ultimately awarded the debut prize of Het Liegend Konijn (the Lying Rabbit), among others. The jury praised the persistent mastery of metre and rhythm and stressed the scope of her subject-matter. Her next collection, Namens de ander On Behalf of the Other was awarded the Jo Peters Poetry Prize and the J.C. Bloem Award. She is a columnist for the weekly De Groene Amsterdammer and VPRO De Avonden radio programme and is on the board of editors of Tirade. She is the Rotterdam 'city poet' and actively involved as a poet, producer and interviewer at literary events in that city. In her third collection, Celinspecties (Cell Inspections), she goes back to her past as a prison warder. It appeared early 2012 and has been nominated for the VSB Poetry Award 2013.