Jostein Gaarder

Jostein Gaarder (Norwegian: [ˈjuːstaɪn ˈɡɔːrdər]; born 8 August 1952) 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 utilizes metafiction in his works and constructs stories within stories. His best known work is the novel Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy. It has been translated into 60 languages; there are over 40 million copies in print.

Family

Gaarder was born in Oslo. His father was a school headmaster and his mother was a teacher and author of children’s books. He was born and raised in Oslo. Gaarder married Siri Dannevig in Oslo in 1974. They moved to Bergen, Norway in 1979 and have two sons.

In 1997, Gaarder and Siri Dannevig established the Sophie Prize. It was an environmental development prize of (USD 100,000 = 77,000 €), awarded annually until 2013, when it was announced that it would no longer be awarded due to lack of funds. It was named after the novel.