Jostein Gaarder (born 8 August 1952) is a Norwegian intellectual and author known for his novels, short stories, and children's books. He often writes from the perspective of children, exploring their sense of wonder about the world. Gaarder is celebrated for his use of metafiction, constructing stories within stories.

His best-known work is the novel "Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy" (1991), which has been translated into 60 languages, with over 40 million copies in print. In 1997, Jostein Gaarder, along with his wife Siri Dannevig, founded the Sophie Prize, an international environment and development prize.