Hewan Semon Marye is Junior Professor of Ethiopian Studies and Contemporary Northeast African Studies at Universität Hamburg and the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies (HLCEES). A historian of modern Ethiopia, she teaches and researches the region’s political and cultural history. Her latest book is Jesting the Lion: Humour in Modern Ethiopia. She is also the translator of Self Meda from Amharic into English. More of her publications and other work can be found on her Academia profile.

Mikael de Lara Co is a Filipino poet and translator. His books of poetry and translation have been named finalists for the National Book Awards four times. In 2024, he was inducted into the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame for his poetry in both English and Filipino. He lives in Cagayan de Oro City with his family and travels often to Manila for work in advertising, political communications, and advocacy.

Hiwot Tadesse Hailemariam, born in Bale-Robe in 1981, is an Ethiopian translator and writer based in Addis Ababa. Educated in Addis Ababa, she earned an LLB from Addis Ababa University in 2004 and an LLM from the University of Amsterdam in 2007, then worked as an assistant judge, prosecutor, lecturer, UN volunteer, and program officer until 2015. She became a full-time translator and writer after the success of her Amharic translation of Hama Tuma’s The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor. Her later work includes ኀሠሣ, her translation of Hiwot Tefera’s Mine To Win, English translations of major Ethiopian writers, and scripts for the 281-episode television drama አፋፍ, aired from 2023 to 2025. Her translation of Bedilu Waqjira’s “Truth, My Child” appeared in PN Review in 2018, and again in 2020.

Ana Margarita R. Nuñez is the author of Hanaw, an Anglophone historical novel about her hometown of Iligan City in the Philippines.  She has a PhD in Literature from De La Salle University-Manila, where she is currently part of the teaching faculty.  Her short stories, essays, and screenplays have appeared in various local and regional publications.  Her creative and research interests include visual arts, Mindanao culture and history, and reading pedagogy.  She is married, with two sons.

Allan N. Derain is the author of several books, including Iskrapbuk (UP Press), a finalist in the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award in 2006; Aswanglaut (Ateneo de Manila University Press) which won the 40thNational Book Award for Best Novel in Filipino and the Gintong Aklat Award for the same category; Ang Banal na Aklat ng mga Kumag (Cacho and Anvil) which won the Carlos Palanca Memorial Grand Prize Award in 2011, The Reader’s Choice Award in 2014, and the National Book Award also in 2014; and The Next Great Tagalog Novel at Iba pang Kuwento which won the 39th National Book Award Best Short Fiction Collection in Filipino. He edited the aswang anthology May Tiktik sa Bubong, May Sigbin sa Silong which won the 37th National Book Award Best Anthology in Filipino, and the Gintong Aklat Award. An Assistant Professor both in the Kagawaran ng Filipino and Fine Arts Department of Ateneo de Manila University, he teaches Creative Writing, Art Appreciation, and Philippine Literature and for three years served as the director of AILAP (Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices).    

Betemariam Teshome is an Ethiopian mechanical engineer, inventor, poet, translator, and novelist. He earned his BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from Arba Minch University and has worked in manufacturing, machine design, and professional advocacy, including as a project coordinator at the Ethiopian Society of Mechanical Engineers. He also received a patent from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Science and Technology for a modified programmable weaving loom developed with colleagues. Currently a senior mechanical engineer at Aluto Langano Geothermal Power Plant, he is also the author of two novels, a translator of Hama Tuma’s poems into Amharic, and a contributor to Addis Admas. His bestselling novel The Third Temple is in its seventh edition. Black Angels also won literary recognition in Ethiopia.

Roman Tewolde-Berhan is a bi-lingual Ethiopian author, editor and translator. She is the author of Reflections: Poems and Photographs and the Amharic novel intended for teenagers Denad’en as well as a contributor to two short story anthologies (Guramayele and Ye Nefes Ekuyamoch). Her memoir, Yodita: My Story, reflects her commitment to preserving personal and cultural histories through writing.

In addition to her creative work, Roman has translated poetry (Songs We Learn from Trees) and edited a wide range of literary and non-fiction texts working with Ethiopian authors and international publications. She was the founder of Romanat Books, through which she has been involved in publishing and book distribution. Although Romanat Books is currently out business, she remains passionate about storytelling, language and documenting lived experiences for future generations.

Paul Filev translates from Macedonian and Spanish into English. His translations include the novels Alma Mahler by Sasho Dimoski (Dalkey Archive Press) and The Lisbon Syndrome by Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles (Turtle Point Press). The latter was named one of World Literature Today’s 75 Notable Translations of 2022. He has also translated the short story collection The Irreparable by Gabriel Payares (Spurl Editions). His translations of short stories by Macedonian and Venezuelan writers have appeared in Best European Fiction, Latin American Literature Today, Asymptote, and The Southern Review. He lives in Melbourne.

Abdelhamid Rhaiem holds a PhD in literature from the University of La Manouba (Tunis) and is currently an assistant professor at the ISLG, University of Gabes (Tunisia), teaching critical literary theories, fiction, poetry and translation. He writes and publishes on literary studies and his latest publications include three co-authored volumes on Memory and Imagination (2025), Metaphors of Marginality and Otherness (2023) and The Dynamics of Resistance and Discontent (2021). Beyond teaching and research, Dr. Rhaiem translates from Arabic into English and from English into Arabic. His translation covers essays, reports and books.

Bethlehem Attfield is a British literary translator of Ethiopian heritage. She specialises in translating fiction and poetry from Amharic into English. Her debut translation of the Amharic novel The Lost Spell was published in London in 2022 and was shortlisted for the Society of Authors’ TA First Translation Award. Her translated short stories have appeared in Asymptote Journal and The Hypocrite Reader. She also translated Adam Reta’s short story Requiem Potatoes and adapted it into an audio musical story available on Spotify. Beyond translation, Bethlehem writes research papers and engages with digital platforms to promote important literary and academic works. In her leisure time, she enjoys travelling and exploring new cultures.

Esther Karin Mngodo is a Tanzanian writer, translator, journalist and editor working across genres and languages. She holds a Master of Journalism from Carleton University, Canada. In 2018, she received the Gordon N. Fisher/Journalists for Human Rights Fellowship from the University of Toronto for her career contribution to human rights reporting in Tanzania.

Winner of Tanzania’s inaugural Ebrahim Hussein Poetry Prize (2014), Esther is the author of one poetry collection. Her work appears in The Caine Prize for African Writing 2017 and other journals with translation published internationally. Esther founded UMBU, a Swahili publishing platform for women. Her short story collections were released in Swahili and English in 2025 (translated by Jay Boss Rubin).

Esther lives in Dar es Salaam with her daughter, Jasmine Mainda-Rose.