(1976, Nijmegen) is a journalist and presenter. She has worked for television and radio programmes of NTR, VPRO, the Dutch World Service and Radio West. In addition to her work in broadcasting Nicole hosts and leads varying meetings: from debates and congresses to literary festivals and other cultural events. She completed three studies: Journalism at the Hogeschool van Utrecht, Religion and the Philosophy of Life at the Free University in Amsterdam and a Master's Degree in Journalism in a Crossmedial News Surroundings at the Media Academie.

(Brazil, 1950) can be regarded as a Brazilian Adriaan van Dis. Coming from a poor family he left for Rio de Janeiro at age fourteen to study. He made a living out of doing translations from English and Spanish language books. He ended up in journalism and for years was a correspondent in New York. He was the first Brazilian journalist to make it to the scene of the 9/11 catastrophe. He also made a series of reports in Iraq. Since 2002 he has interviewed great writers like Mario Vargas Llosa, Nadine Gordimer en Orhan Pamuk for Globonews. Silvestre had written three non fiction books before making his debut in 2009 with the novel Se eu fechar os olhos agora (When I close my eyes), which won the prestigious Jabuti Prize for best novel, as well as the São Paulo Literary Award for Best Novel of the year. The novel appears in Dutch early 2012. In 2011 his second novel was published, A felicidade e fácil (Happiness is easy). Its launch was a happening in which writers, actresses and other fans were queueing in order to get hold of an autographed copy. In both novels Silvestre draws from his own experiences as a journalist. Recent Brazilian history plays an important role, sex and violence being recurring themes.

(Great Britain, 1974) grew up in Ghana. During his studies in Manchester he joined Commonword, a group of visible-minority writers who discuss one another's work. He writes prose, poetry, articles, and the occasional rap, and regularly performs at literary festivals. The Dutch translation of his first novel, Tail of the Blue Bird (De Blauwe Vogel), was published in 2010, a crime novel about a Ghanaian village where a hunk of flesh is found and the police must figure out what exactly it is. Gorgeous descriptions of Ghanaian nature alternate with sharp passages about Ghanaian police corruption. The book was nominated for the Commonwealth Prize. Recurring themes in Parkes' writing include power, cultural conflict, love, family, and the friction between capitalism and humanism. He performs at poetry festivals around the world and is a regular commentator on BBC radio. He has recorded two CDs of poems: Incredible Blues and Nocture of Phrase.  In 2011 he published The Parade, a children's book about the spider Anansi, under the pen name K.P. Kojo.

(Morocco, 1976) moved to the Netherlands age six as part of a family reunification scheme and grew up in Berkel-Rodenrijs. When he studied Dutch language and literature he began work on his debut De dagen van Sjaitan (The days of Sjaitan, 2000). The critics were very enthusiastic about this novel in which El Haji puts paid to the hypocrisy of Islam, embodied in the authoritarian father figure. Pieter Steinz (NRC Handelsblad) called the novel ‘the first Islamic novel in Dutch breaking down traditional religious and socio-political barriers’ and likened him to Maarten ’t Hart. In 2006 Goddelijke Duivel (Godly Devil) appeared, in which a writer of Berber descent goes in search of his god. His third novel, De aankondiging (The announcement, 2011) is set in the century before the birth of Islam. The main character is Mutalieb, the prophet Mohammed's grandfather. Mecca in those days was a tolerant town in the periphery of the Byzantine and Persian empires. El Haji's work distinghuishes itself on account of his original points of view, the provoking dilemmas which he raises, good rthythmicity and remarkable composition.