Jostein Gaarder

Who is Jostein Gaarder?

Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian intellectual and author of several novels, short stories and children's books. Gaarder often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. He often uses metafiction in his works, writing stories within stories.

Gaarder was born into a pedagogical family. His best known work is the novel Sophie's World, subtitled A Novel about the History of Philosophy. This popular work has been translated into fifty-three languages; there are over forty million copies in print.

In 1997, he established the Sophie Prize together with his wife Siri Dannevig. This prize is an international environment and development prize, awarded annually. It is named after the novel.