(1963, Poland) sang in a punk band, worked as a journalist, and wrote a popular TV series before converting to Islam in 2000 and moving to Egypt with his wife and son. One of his reasons for going to live in Alexandria was his increasing annoyance at the worsening social behaviour in Poland. The low cost of living and the agreeable climate also played a role. He was also curious about how he, as a Western cosmopolitan, would find life in a Muslim country. He hasn't regretted his choice although he does find fault with life in his new home. His book Egypte Haram halal is very critical about traditionalism in Egypt, as well about the legally forbidden but still common practice of female circumcision. In interviews, too, he denounces traditions and pleads for a tolerant and open Islam.

1983, Ter Aar, NL) is a sociologist, lecturer, researcher and essayist. She spent a large part of her adult life living and working amid Muslim youth in so-called underprivileged neighbourhoods. She participated in all kinds of social projects, such as homework assistance and cultural afternoons, and gave English lessons. She recorded her experiences in Amsterdam and Paris in De gekleurde werkelijkheid (Coloured Reality). She ended up a "foreigner" in a Parisian banlieue and shared a flat with an African youth, Oneboy. After that she lived in Osdorp. Currently, she has been contracted by the City of The Hague to research the level of trust that youth in the Schilderswijk (an immigrant area) have in the police. For the VU, she is studing the interaction between radical Islam and anti-Islam groups. Her research shows that Dutch group dynamics are much more determined by ethnicity and religion than in France, and that groups hold strong prejudices about one another.

(Netherlands, 1968) is a classicist and writer. He has more than 40 titles to his name, including poetry, novels, short stories, plays, scientific studies, translations and anthologies. His work has earned many nominations and prizes, including the 2014 Libris Literature Prize for his novel La Superba, an ode to the city of Genoa, where he lives and works. In 2016 he published Brieven uit Genua (Letters from Genoa), an autobiography in letter format and the counterpart to La Superba, which also discusses the publication of the novel. Grand Hotel Europa (2018), a book about love in times of mass tourism, nostalgia, European identity, and a part of the world that has become a museum, was nominated for the 2019 Libris Literature Prize and translated into 10 languages. Pfeijffer never eschews debate, expressing himself in essays, columns and TV programs.

(Deventer, NL, 1961) is a writer, performer and theatre producer. Her 2004 breakthrough came with De laatste dichters (The Last Poets), nominated for the Libris Literature Prize. This novel about the lives of four black Americans who became famous as "The Last Poets" was adapted for theatre. We hadden liefde, we hadden wapens (We Had Love, We Had Weapons), Otten's swirling 2016 novel, is about the life of the black citizen's rights activist Robert F. Williams in America, and about taking a stand for the right to be who you are, regardless of the consequences. Een van ons (One of Us, 2020), her novel about lifelong prisoner Luc was performed as a theatre monologue. In her novel Als ik je eenmaal mijn verhaal heb verteld (Once I told you my story, 2024), Anir tries to build a new life ‘outside’ after 12 years of detention. The Blocknotes Foundation, co-founded by Otten in 2020, uses creative writing for empowerment and talent development of people in prison.

(Israel, 1972) is an Israeli writer from a Jewish-Iranian family. Besides being a successful novelist, she writes poetry, created a children's book, and works as a presenter and scriptwriter for TV. Her third novel Grensleven (Border Life), which came out in the Netherlands in 2016, caused great controversy in Israel. A commission wanted to place the award-winning book about the love affair of a Jewish woman and a Palestinian man on Israeli high-school reading lists. But the Israeli Ministry of education prevented it because they felt it would encourage intercultural marriage. One year later, it was put on the list after all and has since become a best-seller. Her first two novels have also been published in Dutch: 1995's Perzische bruiden (Persian Brides) and 1999's Onze bruiloften (Our Weddings).