Kjartan Fløgstad is a Norwegian author. Fløgstad was born in the industrial city of Sauda in Ryfylke, Rogaland. He studied literature and linguistics at the University of Bergen. Subsequently, he worked for a period as an industrial worker and as a sailor before he debuted as a poet with his collection of poems titled Valfart (Pilgrimage) in 1968. He received the Nordic Council's Literature Prize for his 1977 novel Dalen Portland. Other major works include Fyr og flamme, Kron og mynt, Grand Manila and Grense Jakobselv.

Sauda is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sauda, where most of the population lives. Other villages in the municipality include Saudasjøen and Amdal. Despite being in the northern part of the region of Ryfylke, Sauda participates in the Haugalandet Council and is under the jurisdiction of the Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court.