Josip Vandot (15 January 1884 – 11 July 1944) was a Slovene writer and poet who wrote mainly for young readers.

Vandot was born in Kranjska Gora in Upper Carniola, then part of Austria-Hungary, now in Slovenia.

Under the interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he was employed as a railway official in Maribor.

In 1941, after the area was annexed by Germany, Vandot was deported to Croatia.

Vandot is best known for the creation of the character Kekec, a brave and clever shepherd boy from the highlands of his home region, the Karawanks and Julian Alps.