Kurt Aust is a pseudonym for Kurt Østergaard (born 6 December 1955 in Ikast, Denmark), an author and freelance writer. Østergaard trained as a teacher. He has been living in Horten in Norway since 1982. Østergaard debuted using the name Aust as a novelist in 1999. Prior to this, he had written the script for a historically based cartoon on the slave ship Fredensborg. Kurt Østergaard is married to the artist (Ann-Carin Wessel). She has co-illustrated the cartoon about Fredensborg and the children's book Kasper & Måns. Den store kaosdagen.