(Russia, 1961) is a Ukrainian writer world famous for the mix of harsh realism and absurdist humour in his novels and non fiction books. He is a respected commentator on the situation in his country. In The President's Last Love, Kurkov employs humour and cynicism to describe how a boy manages to work his way up to become the most powerful man in the country. Ukraine Diaries: Dispatches from Kiev, his eyewitness account of political unrest in the Ukraine, was published in 2014. Dairy of an Invasion (2022) and Our daily war (2024) are collections of Kurkov's writings and broadcasts. In 2024, he published The Silver Bone, the first part of The Kyiv Mysteries, his series of crime novels in historical settings. The second part The Stolen Heart will be published in 2025; the third part The Public Sauna Case is in development.

(Cairo, 1957) is a writer, dentist, and one of the founders of the opposition movement Kefaya that helped launch the Egyptian Revolution. He had his international breakthrough with The Yacoubian Building, a novel about the lives of the inhabitants of an apartment block in Cairo. Although it paints a disconcerting picture of Egyptian society, it remained a bestseller in that country for years. It was also made into a film and a TV series. Al Aswani's writing style is quick and witty, with short chapters full of action, atmosphere and drama. His 2004 novella Friendly Fire, about a young man highly critical of corruption in Egypt, was banned. His newspaper columns about political developments in Egypt have been collected in On the state of Egypt. The Dutch translation of his latest novel will be presented at the 2015 Winternachten festival: De automobielclub (The Automobile Club of Egypt), about Cairo in the late 1940s, when Egypt was a British protectorate.

(Oost-Souburg, NL, 1959) studied Dutch and Literary Theory in Leiden. He spent several years as a professional dancer. Later he developed into a versatile radio-maker at the NCRV broadcaster, including the successful "Casa Luna" programme. He now hosts two programmes on Radio 4: "Passaggio" (weekdays at 7 p.m.) and the talk show "Diskotabel." He also works in theatre as a dramaturge and writer. He is increasingly active as a presenter of concerts, conferences and debates. Every Saturday, he publishes an interview with an inspiring special guest in De Correspondent online daily.