Peter Verhelst (born 28 January 1962) is a Belgian Flemish novelist, poet and dramatist.

In his youth, he was extremely interested in books, reading atlases and encyclopaediae, as well as novels, and writing poetry from the age of 16.

While a teacher in Dutch, English and History, he debuted in 1987 with the poem Obsidiaan, with his first novel - Vloeibaar harnas - following in 1993.

Thereafter, he worked as a teacher at the Institute for Food in Bruges, quitting in 1999 to begin writing full-time.

In 2016 he won the Ida Gerhardt Poëzieprijs for his poetry book Wij totale vlam (2014).