Kristin Valla was born and raised in Finneidfjord in Nordland. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Oslo and Akershus, and has studied French and Spanish at the universities of Oslo and Bergen. In 2000, she made her debut as an author with the novel Muskat has been translated into seven languages, including English, German and Japanese. Kristin has worked as a journalist in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet Magasinet, as editor-in-chief in the fashion magazine Costume and as editor for the cultural magazine Aftenposten K. In 2015, she founded the company Andersen & Valla, which offers content and consulting services for cultural life, together with Hélène Andersen. From 2019–2021 Valla worked as a text editor for Munch Museum in Oslo.