Gunnar Staalesen (born 19 October 1947) is a Norwegian writer. He is a major figure in the Nordic noir crime fiction genre through his 19 novels featuring Varg Veum, a private detective in Bergen on the rainy west coast of Norway. The Varg Veum series has been praised as one of the best in modern crime fiction, and Staalesen has sold more than 5 million books in 26 countries. Staalesen is also a screenwriter and a playwright who has worked extensively with Den Nationale Scene, the largest theatre in Bergen.
