Bragi Ólafsson was born in Reykjavik, and may be most well known for playing bass in The Sugarcubes, Björk’s first band. After recording three albums and touring the world, he quit making music and turned to writing. He is the author of several books of poetry and short stories, and four novels, including Time Off, which was nominated for the Icelandic Literature Prize in 1999 (as was The Pets), and Party Games, for which Bragi received the DV Cultural Prize in 2004. His most recent novel—The Ambassador—was a finalist for the 2008 Nordic Literature Prize and received the Icelandic Bookseller’s Award as best novel of the year.

Two of the most respected international authors of our time, Salman Rushdie and Umberto Eco, will read from their work and discuss literature at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the East River Road Auditorium at the University of Rochester’s Advancement and Alumni Center, 300 East River Road. The event, which is part of the PEN World Voices Festival, is being hosted by Open Letter, the University of Rochester’s new press dedicated to publishing works of literature in translation. The event is free and open to the public.