Bragi Ólafsson was born in Reykjavík in 1962. He worked as a musician for six years, internationally, but has been a full-time writer since 2001. He has published five books of poetry, five novels, two collections of short stories, and a number of plays for the stage and radio. His poetry has been translated into various languages, and two of his novels, The Pets and The Ambassador, are available in English, German, and Danish. The Pets has also been translated into French and Spanish.