This year, the prestigious Man Booker International Prize will go to David Grossman for his novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar.  The book is about a failing stand-up comic, Dovaleh Greenstein, and his final performance.

David Grossman, born and based in Jerusalem, has been writing for years. His works being very popular, have been translated into 36 languages. He has also won several other awards such as the French Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Germany's Buxtehuder Bulle, Rome's Premio per la pace e l'azione umanitaria, the Frankfurt Peace Prize, and Israel's Emet Prize.

Nick Barley, judge and director of the Edinburgh international book festival said that David Grossman has written a spectacular novel where the spotlight is on the effects of grief, without any hint of sentimentality. The central character is challenging and flawed, but completely compelling.

Barley said that he was bowled over by Grossman's willingness to take emotional as well as stylistic risks. Every sentence, every word mattered and was a supreme example of the writer’s craft.

Fellow judges, Daniel Hahn, Elif Shafak, Chika Unigwe, and Helen Mort, commended Grossman's novel as "an extraordinary story that soars in the hands of a master storyteller". They added that the book is written with empathy, wisdom and emotional intelligence.

Grossman’s book was selected among 126 titles which was cut down to a 13 book long list which was further brought down to a six book shortlist. The shortlist included fellow Israeli writer Amos Oz as well as writers from Denmark, France, Norway and Argentina.

Grossman was announced the winner at a ceremony at the V&A Museum in London. He will share the prize amount of £50,000 with his English translator, Jessica Cohen.