Ketil Bjørnstad

Ketil Bjørnstad (b 1952, Norway) is a pianist, composer and prolific author.

After training as a classical pianist, making his concert debut at the age of 16, he shifted focus towards jazz and rock. He has toured multiple countries, and collaborated with a wide array of musicians, writers and film directors.

He began his writing career in 1972 with the poetry collection Alone. In close to five decades since, he has published more than forty books across a rich variety of genres, including poems, novels and biographies. Among his “literary biographies” is The Story of Edvard Munch, which was translated into English and published alongside a Munch retrospective exhibition. His latest work is a series of novels called Verden som var min (The World I Used to Know), written as memoirs, over the last six decades.

His awards include the Riksmål Society Literary Prize and the French Le prix des lecteurs, as well as Spellemannsprisen for his album Berget det blå.