Born in 1952, he made his debut in 1982 with the poetry collection Hakk i hæl. Since his second book, Fra dette punktet trekker jeg en omkrets (1982), he has used a variety of genres – poetry, essays, prose and novels – to develop a remarkable, heterogeneous body of work.

Rune Ottosen (1950) is Professor emeritus in journalism at OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan University.

He has written extensively on press history and media coverage of war and conflicts. He is the co-editor (with Tormod Heier and Terje Tvedt) of the book Libya. Krigens uutholdelig letthet. He is co-author with Stig Arne Nohrstedt of several books, the latest New War, New Medis and New War Journalism (2014).

Based in Trondheim, Montaser Hassan is an Egyptian poet and author. Hassan has published several poertry collections, among them Thamat Ashiaa lan yogrebha (2012) and Huroob wa Haza'em (2004). His Poems have been published all over the world ranging from Dubai Cultural to Mina Magazine.

After working at the University of Oslo as a researcher on China at the Centre for Development and the Environment, Harald Bøckman (born 1945) has, until recently, been a senior guest researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Alena Kazlova (Anka Upala) is a Belarusian writer and translator of literature from English, Finnish and Swedish. She is a member of the Belarusian PEN Centre and a member of the Union of Belarusian Writers where she also coordinated the work of the writing school.

Benedicte was born in Oslo, 1972. She debuted in 2010 with the novel Ingen skal høre hvor stille det er. With her debut she was exclaimed as the debutant of the year in Aftenposten, Norways largest newspaper. Since then she has published several novels.

Hans-Olav Thyvold was born in 1959 and has published several nonfiction books and worked as a journalist, radio and tv host. In 2017 he published his first work of fiction “Snille hunder kommer ikke til sydpolen” which deals with the fate of the 100 or so dogs that Roald Amundsen brought with him to the south pole.

The actress Juni Dahr founded Visions Theatre in 1988. Dahr has worked with medieval themes, Henrik Ibsen’s drama and modern experimental theatre throughout her career. Through her many female roles in classical drama and the one-woman performances produced by Visions Theatre, she has contributed to a renewal of how female characters are portrayed in Norwegian theatre.

Easterine Kire, born in 1959 in Nagaland, north-east India, she has a PhD in English literature from Pune University, India.

Kire’s first book of poetry (Kelhoukevira,1982) was the first book of English poetry to be published by a Naga. In 2003, she also published the first novel by a Naga writer in English, A Naga village remembered (Ura Academy).

Kristina Quintano made her debut in the anthology Hallo i Speilet (“Hello in the Mirror”) published by Aschehoug in 1989.

Having worked in the Norwegian book publishing industry for many years, she has wide experience from a variety of publishers and journals, both as an editor and journalist. Kristina currently runs the publishing company Quintano Forlag, and is also an editor of the cultural magazine 55pluss.

Ashur Etwebi is one of Libya’s leading writers; he has published nine books of poetry and a novel, many of which have been published in English. Etwebi has translated a wide range of international poetry into Arabic and has been a prominent figure in Libya’s literary scene after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. He has co-organized cultural and literary festivals and conferences showcasing both Libyan and international poetry and music, including the Tripoli International Poetry Festival in 2012. Etwebi resides in Trondheim.

Teresa Grøtan is a journalist whose publications include “The Globalisation Book” (Globaliseringsboka). She hails from Stokmarknes in Vesterålen but lives in Bergen. Grøten graduated with a Master of Arts (with distinction) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in 2001. She did her Master’s thesis on cultural journalism in South Africa in a historical-political context.