Israeli author bags award for his novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar.

Israeli author David Grossman has won the Man Booker International Prize for his novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar.

The award was announced on Wednesday in London.

Mr. Grossman beat out five other finalists, including fellow Israeli author Amos Oz for the counterpart to Britain’s prestigious Booker Prize. Mr. Grossman’s novel is about a failing standup comic and his final performance.

Award shared with translator

The award has a prize of 50,000 pounds ($64,000) that is split evenly between Mr. Grossman and translator Jessica Cohen.

The prize was previously a career honor, but changed last year to recognize a single book in a bid to increase the profile of international fiction in English-speaking countries.

Last year the prize was awarded to The Vegetarian by South Korea’s Han Kang.