Kari J. Spjeldnæs (53) has more than thirty years' working experience from Norwegian publishing, fifteen of them as Publishing Director in Aschehoug Publishing House. Spjeldnæs holds a Master of Literature from University of Oslo and has broad literary and leadership experience, from editorial and board work and in various committees for the Norwegian Publishers Association. She is currently involved in a project on digital development, writes a non-fiction book on reading and holds several board positions.

Stavros Stavrou Karayanni is Associate Professor of English in the Department of Humanities of the European University of Cyprus.  He is a critical theorist, performer, and creative writer. 

Barbara Hoepli (Milan 1971) is a publisher and bookseller. She is chairman of the Board of Hoepli S.p.A - Casa Editrice Libraria (Publishers and Booksellers) in Milan, Italy. She is also a member of the board and of the executive committee of the Swiss Chamber, Milan, Italy; and member of the scientific committee of the Scuola per librai Umberto e Elisabetta Mauri. 

Jean Back (1953) was born in Dudelange (Luxembourg). After finishing secondary education in Esch-sur-Alzette, he became a civil servant, first at the Ministry of Family, then at the Ministry of Culture. Between 1989 and 2016, he was in charge of the National Audiovisual Centre of Dudelange (CNA). In 2003, he turned to literature with Wollekestol, a tribute to his hometown and its steel industry. It was followed by several books, among them Amateur which won the EUPL Prize in 2010 and is translated in six languages.

Nenad Rizvanović was born in Osijek in 1968. He completed his studies of Croatian language and literature at Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb and in 2019 completed his PhD at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar with the thesis “Poststructural Analysis of the Role of Reader”. He teaches courses on publishing at Faculty of Philosophy in Rijeka. He has been publishing literary criticism and prose since 1985.

Εrasmia-Louisa Stavropoulou is Professor Emerita of Modern Greek Literature at the Faculty of Philology of NΚUA. She has been president of several committees for literarure and translation-related state awards.

Armen Ohanyan (b.1979; pen name Armen of Armenia) is a fiction writer, essayist and literary translator. He holds a BA in philosophy from Yerevan State University and the graduate certificate in Translation (CTRA) from American University of Armenia. He’s the author of the story collection [The Return of Kikos], and the trilogy of novels [Mommyland], where for the first time in Armenian literature LGBT people are presented under a positive light. He’s the president of Armenian PEN Center (since 2017), board member of TIAC and Human Rights House Yerevan.

Leanne Ellul lectures in Maltese language and literature at the Ġ.F Abela Junior College as part of the University of Malta. She writes both poetry and prose. In the past she has written for theatre and still writes both textbooks and readers for children. Ellul has also translated a number of works to Maltese. She is part of a number of entities that have the Maltese language and culture at heart, namely Inizjamed and HELA.  

José Manuel Bernardes Pereira Lello (1958) has worked as an administrator at Livraria Lello since 1983. He is also part of the Lello Editores publishing house, both of which are recognised institutions in Portugal and beyond. José Manuel also served as the President of the Portuguese Association of Publishers and Booksellers (APEL) between 1995 and 1998, and was a member of the board of Portugal for the country’s representation as guest of honour at Frankfurt Book fair in 1997.

Gjoko Zdraveski (1985) graduated at Blaže Koneski Faculty of Philology in Skopje and holds an MA from the same faculty. He worked as a Macedonian language lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy in Nish for eight years. From 2014-2018, he organized Astal Projections literary evenings together with Ana Golejshka, every first Tuesday in the month at Menada café. Since 2015, he has been part of the Versopolis project.