Authors will temporarily give up the writing life for the speaking life when PEN American Center begins its weeklong Voices Festival of International Literature on April 26. Familiar literary stars like Toni Morrison, above left, and Salman Rushdie (the festival chairman) are part of the lineup, as are musicians like Patti Smith and Natalie Merchant, who have recently tried their hands at book writing. A few authors are pairing up to interview each other: Ms. Smith and Jonathan Lethem, above right; Colum McCann and Roddy Doyle; and Shirley Hazzard and Richard Ford. Mr. Ford will also appear with Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Philippe Djian and Barry Gifford to talk about how their books were made into films. Popular events are back, like the Translation Slam, which pits contestants against one another as they translate a single work into a different language, and the PEN Cabaret, with Ben Okri, winner of the Man Booker Prize; Ariel Dorfman; and Ms. Merchant.

Correction: March 24, 2010, Wednesday A report in the ”Arts, Briefly” column on Friday about the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature next month misidentified an author in one event. Richard Price will be among the authors talking about how their books were made into films, not Richard Ford. (As the report noted, Mr. Ford is one of the writers who will pair up to interview each other.)