(Hoorn, 1968) is a journalist who started his career at local radio station Amsterdam FM; after that he became editor of De Digitale Stad, hosted AT5's newshow and talkshows. Then he returned to making radio: first at BNR Nieuwsradio and afterwards at VPRO's programme De Avonden which he presented every Monday and Friday. Since 2015 Van Kan is radio news show host at national public broadcaster NOS; he also can be heard as voice over during TV news shows. Spring 2016, he hosted literary TV programme Boeken. Next to this, Van Kan is active as editor of literary magazines. Until 2007 he was part of the editorial board of De Tweede Ronde. Afterwards he moved to literary magazine Tirade. Together with Wim Brands he is co-editor of Nederland. Een objectief zelfportret in 51 voorwerpen (The Netherlands. An objective autoportrait in 51 objects), a collection of texts about typically Dutch objects by the same number of writers.

(1959) is a journalist, director and scriptwriter. Right now IJzermans is editor-in-chief of the VPRO radio programme De Avonden (The Evenings). Music lovers have known her for twenty years as programme maker and host with VPRO radio. In programmes like De Wilde Wereld, Villa 65 and Nozems à gogo she shared her love for alternative pop music both enthusiastically and smartly with listeners. She also made various documentaries, depicting the daily life of among others singer Nick Cave soberly yet beautifully. She wrote several scripts, such as Zoet brood (Sweet bread) for tv. For the series Het Geluk Van Nederland (Dutch happiness) she made various episodes on education and child-abuse. Her 2005 script for the tv film Burgers/Reizigers (Citizens/Travellers) was awarded the Geneva Europa prize.

(1942) according to the Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland belongs to the ‘the twelve greatest thinkers of the Netherlands’. The emeritus philosophy professor has always combined scientific work with social debate. In his voluminous oeuvre Achterhuis highlights themes like economic scarcity, development aid, the environment and technology. He likes to call his work current affairs analysis as he links philosophy to an extensive research into dossiers, reports and newspaper articles. In 2003 Achterhuis won the Pierre Bayle prize for cultural criticism and in 2009 the Socrates Challenge Cup for Met alle geweld (With all possible violence) in which he looks into the role of violence in our society. One of his most celebrated works is De markt van welzijn en geluk (The market of welfare and happiness; 1979) in which he posits that welfare aid does not necessary lead to progress as it creates dependence. His last book, Utopie van de vrije markt (Utopia of the free market), appeared in 2010. With the credit crisis as immediate cause, Achterhuis shows that there is indeed an ideology behind free market thought.

(1979) is a philosopher, lawyer, writer, trainer and programme maker. In his latest book Welkom in Youtopia (Welcome in Youtopia; 2010) he sketches the fading away of the borders between the real and virtual worlds by the ever increasing technological possibilities. People collect identities by the dozen as career tiger, sportsman, lover and what have you. Van der Veen wonders how many identities one person can take on. In this book he examines if the use of the various identities adds excess value to real life. In 2009 Van der Veen got his Ph.D. in Delft with a thesis on the relationship between project developers in New York, Amsterdam and London. He also organised debating programmess for De Balie and the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam, hosting most of them himself. Van der Veen regularly contributes to daily newspapers such as NRC Handelsblad and De Volkskrant.

(Bombay, 1981) is a literary jack-of-all-trades. Van der Kwast discovered his writing talent in the first year of gymnasium (grammar school) when he started writing plays. In his final exam year he made his debut with a short story in the literary magazine Passionate, becoming its editor-in-chief three months later. In 2001 he and Jorg Schellekens started the multicultural and interdisciplinary literary stage Nur Literatur, dubbed by Tommy Wieringa ‘the best literary festival in the Netherlands’. As Yusef el Halal he and various fellow writers published the collection of short stories Man zoekt vrouw om hem gelukkig te maken (Man seeks woman to make him happy) in 2003, called ‘the funniest debut’ of 2004 by Het Parool. In February 2005 his own debut followed, under his own name, Soms zijn dingen mooier als er mensen klappen, (Sometimes things are more beautiful when people start clapping) described by NRC Handelsblad as ‘heartrendingly beautiful’. In 2010 the romanticised story of his Indian mother appeared, Mama Tandoori that was nominated for the NS Publieksprijs 2010. Under the pseudonym Stieger Sloot he published the absurdist novel Stand-in in 2007.

makes easy-going yet penetrating folk pop music. This cheerful quintet blends Balkan, Arabic, Latin and Dutch brass band influences into a very catchy whole. Front woman Amarins Romkema is a young Frisian singer and guitarist, who has performed albums by Lucky Fonz III. Amarins’ lack of inhibition reminds one of Fay Lovsky. The quintet comprises ukelele, violin, accordion, guitar and double bass.The numerous gigs at home and abroad have given the band a mature sound without their music losing any of its spontaneity.

(1958, Colombia) had his international breakthrough in 2006 with The Forgetting that Awaits Us. In this book he depicts the story of his father, Abad senior, who was killed in 1987 by the Colombian paramilitary. In addition to being a portrait of Abad’s father it is a sweeping historical account of Colombia, a country which has been torn apart for decades by civil war. Abad’s father was a wise man, who fought for a peaceful society. He could never have thought that eventually he would have to pay for that struggle with his own life. Abad junior was only twelve years old when he put his first short stories and poems on paper and received the Colombian short story award at age twenty for Piedras de Silencio (Stones of silence), about a mineworker trapped deep into the ground. His first book of short stories, Malos Pensamientos (Bad Thoughts, 1991) describes life in Medellín in the 1980s. It was followed by a number of books in which he experimented with form and content. His most experimental work is Basura (Garbage, 2000) in which he plays with the interaction between reader, writer and storyteller in literature. In 2004 Angosta appeared, one of the best Latin American novels in recent years. In it Abad sketches a kaleidoscopic image of the violent nature of Colombian society. Las Formas de la Pereza y Otros Ensayos (2007) is a book on the origins and expressions of idleness. Abad’s hypothesis is that idleness is not a luxury but the ‘original condition of human existence’ from which all human creation emanates. Héctor Abad studied medicine, philosophy and literature in Mexico, Colombia and Turin, Italy. After his father’s assassination he himself received death threats and fled to Europe, to Spain and Italy, where he lived and worked. In addition to being a writer Abad is a translator and a journalist for Spanish and Latin American newspapers and magazines. His books have been translated into English, Italian, German, Greek, Portuguese, Chinese and Dutch.