(Belgium, 1971) is an author, historian and archaeologist, known for his multifaceted contributions to literature and intellectual discourse. He is currently Philosopher Laureate of the Low Countries. Upon his appointment, he published De wereld en de aarde (The World and the Earth, 2025), in which he makes a groundbreaking proposal to radically broaden our thinking—and our politics. For the greatest security issue of our time is not the world with its mutual conflicts, but the earth, which is becoming increasingly disrupted. His oeuvre covers a range of genres, including historical non-fiction, poetry, and theater. Among his best-known works are Congo (2010), about the country's bewildering history, and Revolusi (2020), which places Indonesia's struggle for independence in a global perspective through eyewitness accounts. In addition to his literary work, Van Reybrouck is known as ‘one of Europe's leading intellectuals’ (Tagesspiegel), whose ideas relate to themes such as democracy, climate, and colonialism. He regularly publishes opinion pieces in international publications. 

Go to the website of David Van Reybrouck
Instagram: @david.vanreybrouck

(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.

(Bloemendaal, NL, 1971) is an editor with the daily NRC Handelsblad newspaper. Her book Koning eenoog, en migrantenverhaal (King One-Eye: An immigrant story) about Henk van Woerden was presented during the 2015 festival; the story of ever-seeking immigrant Van Woerden (1947-2005), who was a writer as well as a visal artist. He wrote a trilogy abut South Africa that received national and international attention, and which, in its rootlessness, forever changed Dutch literature about South Africa. In 2014 Het Boekenparadijs. De opkomst en ondergang van de grootste boekhandelsketen in Nederland (Book Paradise: The rise and fall of the biggest bookstore chain in the Netherlands) was published, which he co-wrote with NRC Handelsblad editor Hanneke Chin-A-Fo. It is a revealing and incisive reconstruction of the recent demise of the Polare chain.

(Ethiopia, 1971) debuted in 2010 with the heartbreaking Beneath the Lion’s Gaze. This novel was hailed by The Guardian as one of the ten best recent African books. The story is set in the 1970s and begins with the last days of Emperor Haile Selassie. Mengiste continues with the cruel regime of the socialist Derg, who is etimated to have caused 100,000 deaths: "I wanted to show the humanity and the destruction of the people who suffered under this regime." Central themes of Mengiste's fiction and non-fiction are migration, the Ethiopian revolution, and the life of black African immigrants in Europe. She currently works for various orgranisations that support displaced people and human rights. Several Amerian celebrities like Meryl Streep and Alicia Keys worked on her film project Girl Rising, about the situation of girls around the world. Mengiste lives and works in New York City.