Eiríkur Örn Norðdahl (1978) is an Icelandic experimental poet and novelist. His work – about a dozen novels, a dozen poetry books, a couple of essay books, a couple of plays, a cook book, a children's christmas splatter, video poems, sound poems and various conceptual projects – have been published in over a dozen languages and won numerous awards in several countries, including the Icelandic Literary Award, the Transfuge award for best nordic fiction (in France), the DV Cultural Award, the Zebra Poetry Film Festival Special Mention, Sparibollinn Award for Romantic Fiction and the Book Merchant's Prize. They have also been shortlisted for awards such as the Prix Médicis Étranger, the Prix Meilleur Livre Étranger and the Nordic Council Literary Award. Eiríkur has translated over a dozen books into Icelandic, including a selection of Allen Ginsberg’s poetry and Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn (for which he received the Icelandic Translation Award). He lives in Ísafjörður, Iceland, a rock in the middle of the ocean, and spends much of his time in Västerås, Sweden, a town by a lake.

Dag Solstad is one of the most recognized Norwegian writers of our time. His debut was in 1965 with the short story collection "Spiraler" (Spirals). His first novel, "Irr! Grønt!", was published four years later. His books have been translated into 30 different languages. He has won a number of awards, which include the Norwegian critics award three times and also being considered for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in Great Britain three times.

Maciej Roman Gdula (ur. 1977) – polski socjolog i publicysta, doktor habilitowany nauk społecznych, nauczyciel akademicki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, specjalizuje się w teorii społecznej i w teorii polityki. Życiorys Jest synem Andrzeja Gduli wiceministra spraw wewnętrznych w czasach PRL, późniejszego doradcy prezydenta Aleksandra Kwaśniewskiego W 2006 Wydziale Filozofii i Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego na podstawie napisanej pod kierunkiem Aleksandry Jasińskiej-Kani rozprawy pt. Utopia, kontrakt i natura. Dyskursy o miłości w kulturze eksperckiej uzyskał stopień naukowy doktora w dziedzinie nauk humanistycznych dyscyplina: socjologia specjalność: socjologia wiedzy. Tam też w 2016 na podstawie dorobku naukowego oraz monografii pt. Uspołecznienie i kompozycja. Dwie tradycje myśli społecznej a współczesne teorie krytyczne otrzymał stopień doktora habilitowanego nauk społecznych w zakresie socjologii. Został adiunktem w Instytucie Socjologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego Jest publicystą Krytyki Politycznej oraz członkiem zarządu Stowarzyszenia im. Stanisława Brzozowskiego. W 2017 roku był koordynatorem głośnego badania terenowego w jednym z miast powiatowych na Mazowszu. Raport z „Miastka” wg wielu socjologów uznany jest za pierwszą miarodajną diagnozę przyczyn zwycięstwa Prawa i Sprawiedliwości w wyborach parlamentarnych w 2015 roku Częsty komentator w „Poranku” radia Tok FM

Nina Lykke (f. 1965) debuterte i 2010 med den kritikerroste novellesamlingen Orgien, og andre fortellinger. Romanen Oppløsningstendenser (2013) fikk strålende anmeldelser og ble kortlistet til P2-lytternes romanpris. I 2016 fikk Lykke sitt store gjennombrudd med romanen Nei og atter nei (2016), som vant Ungdommens kritikerpris og ble en salgssuksess i Sverige og Tyskland så vel som i Norge. Full spredning. En legeroman er Nina Lykkes fjerde bok og for den vant hun Brageprisen 2019. Not to be confused with Danish-Swedish gender studies scholar Nina Lykke.

Andri Snær Magnason is an Icelandic writer, born in Reykjavik on July 14, 1973. An award winning author published in 40 languages. His most recent book is On Time and Water - a book seeking to explore the issue of time and climate change through language, mythology and memoir. Andri has written novels, poetry, plays, short stories, essays and he has directed documentary films. His novel LoveStar was chosen as “Novel of the year” by Icelandic booksellers, it received the DV Literary Award, The Philip K. Dick special citation Award of 2013 and won the french Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire as best foreign Sci-Fi in France 2016. His children’s book, The Story of the Blue Planet, was the first children’s book to receive the Icelandic Literary Prize and has been published or performed in 35 countries. His first book of poetry was a runaway best seller published by the Bonus supermarket chain in Iceland. The Story of the Blue Planet received the Janusz Korczak Honorary Award 2000 and the West Nordic Children’s Book Prize 2002 and the Green Earth Honor Award 2013 and the UKLA Award 2014. The play from the story was performed on the main stage of YPT in Toronto in 2005 and 2013. He has been active in the fight for preserving the delicate nature of Iceland, his book Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation takes on these issues. Dreamland has been made into a feature-length documentary film. Andri Magnason is the winner of the Kairos Award of 2010 granted by the Alfred Toepfer institute in Hamburg. His most recent documentary films are The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole - a bipolar musical documentary with elephants and Apausalypse, available on the website of Emergence Magazine. Andri Snær Magnason lives in Reykjavík. He is married with four children. His work has been published to more than 40 languages.

Bragi studied Spanish at the University of Iceland and the University of Granada. He has had a number of different jobs in Reykjavík, at the post office, in a bank and in a record store. He was also a member of the Sugarcubes, and toured with them in Europe and America. Bragi's first published work, the poetry collection Dragsúgur (Draught), appeared in 1986. Since then, he has published other books of poetry, short story collections, plays and novels. His first novel, Hvíldardagar (Days of Repose) was nominated for the Icelandic Literary Prize in 1999 and the next one, Gæludýrin (The Pets) also in 2001. He received the DV Cultural Prize for the novel Samkvæmisleikir (Party Games) in 2004 and his novel Sendiherrann (The Ambassador) was nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2008. Bragi is one of the founders of the publishing company Smekkleysa (Bad Taste) which has mostly put out music and organised various kinds of events.

Thomas Hylland Eriksen (born 6 February 1962) is professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo. Born in Oslo, he has done field work in Trinidad and Mauritius. His fields of research include identity, nationalism, globalisation and identity politics. Eriksen finished his dr. polit.-degree in 1991, and was made professor in 1995, at the age of 33. In the years 1993-2001 he was editor of the journal Samtiden. A considerable portion of Eriksen's work has focused on popularizing social anthropology and conveying basic cultural relativism as well as criticism of Norwegian nationalism in the Norwegian public debate. He has written the basic textbook used in the introductory courses in social anthropology at most Scandinavian universities. The book, "Small Places - Large Issues" in English, is also used in introductory courses in many other countries, and has been widely translated, as has his other major textbook, "Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives". Eriksen is a frequent contributor of newspaper pieces in Scandinavia. In 2011, Professor Eriksen was awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council. Under the heading "OVERHEATING", he now directs research on three major crises of globalisation—economy/finance, environment/climate and identity/culture. This project is both comparative and interdisciplinary. Starting in late 2012, it will be completed in 2016. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Stieg Larsson (born as Karl Stig-Erland Larsson) was a Swedish journalist and writer who passed away in 2004. As a journalist and editor of the magazine Expo , Larsson was active in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organisations. When he died at the age of 50, Larsson left three unpublished thrillers and unfinished manuscripts for more. The first three books ( The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest ) have since been printed as the Millenium series. These books are all bestsellers in Sweden and in several other countries, including the United States and Canada. Witnessed a rape when he was 15, and was helpless to stop it. This event haunted him for the rest of his life. The girl being raped was named Lisbeth, which he later used as the name of the heroine on his Millenium trilogy. Sexual violence against women is also a recurring theme in his work. Personal quote: To exact revenge for yourself or your friends is not only a right, it's an absolute duty.