40-year-old Bjarke Stenbæk Kristensen grew up in a commune outside Aarhus, graduated from the Design School in Kolding, and later studied art in Stockholm. Before he began writing and illustrating books for children, he worked for Swedish film director Roy Andersson and created animated films for the Royal Danish Theatre and Cartoon Network.

But he had long dreamed of making picture books, and when he stopped trying to create something others would want and instead began to craft stories he himself would enjoy reading, things started to fall into place. He landed a publishing deal without even having a finished book.

"I think Danish children's books have a reputation for being a bit wilder and a bit funnier than Swedish ones, and that creates a little niche for a Dane," he writes.

Since then, things have moved quickly with his illustrated stories, which have a style reminiscent of the cozy, detailed illustrations many will recognize from Sven Nordqvist’s Findus and Pettson books.

In just one year, Bjarke Stenbæk Kristensen has published no fewer than three books.

He made his debut in 2024 with Ålens nyckel (“The Eel’s Key”), a story about a girl named Emma who lives in a chaotic home and longs for her own room. This was followed by Biografen vid världens ände (“The Cinema at the End of the World”), about Nadine, who sits in her tower on a deserted island, searching for life in outer space. It takes place in Greenland, where the author/illustrator also lived for a time as a child. And in the spring came Det sista killregnet (“The Last Boy Rain”), written by Emma Karinsdotter and illustrated by Kristensen.

Bjarke Stenbæk Kristensen writes his books in Danish.

In 2025, he was awarded the Lennart Hellsing Grant of 100,000 Swedish kronor, established in honor of the late children's book author Lennart Hellsing – a Swedish icon known for writing rhymes for children in a style similar to Denmark’s Halfdan Rasmussen. It is one of Sweden’s most prestigious grants for children’s literature.