Abdushukur Muhammet (Qumtur) is a writer and poet from Kucha, Aksu, who has been living in Sweden since 2003. Fascinated by poetry, Muhammet studied to become a teacher in Uyghur literature, poetry, and history in his twenties, and by the 1990s, had become a well-known poet among Uyghurs. After working as a teacher for thirteen years, Muhammet was subjected to severe control and harassment during the chaos of the mid-90s for his role in promoting Uyghur language and culture, until he was eventually forced into exile. To date he has written nine books, including collections of poetry, essays, and translated work. Currently he is a member of the Swedish Writers’ Union, Swedish PEN, and is the Chairman for the World Uyghur Writers’ Union, which he founded along with Uyghur writers in diaspora.

Munawwar Abdulla is an Uyghur advocate, poet, and scientist born on Kaurna land and based in Massachusetts. She co-founded The Tarim Network, runs Uyghur Collective, and collaborates on projects with Uyghur rights organizations around the world. Her writings and literary translations have been published in places such as Cordite Poetry Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Asymptote, and others.