Two Israeli novelists have been longlisted for the £50,000 Man Booker International Prize.

Amoz Oz has been nominated for his book Judas, while David Grossman has been selected for his novel A Horse Walks into a Bar, about an Israeli comedian.

The pair are among 13 authors,  writing in 11 different languages, contending for the prize. The judges announced the longlist after considering 126 books.

Judas is Oz’s first novel in decade and focuses on how Jesus’s disciple has become an archetypal hate figure for antisemites.

The protagonist, Shmuel Ash - a diffident young intellectual - has an obsession with Judas Iscariot. Shmuel believes that Judas was the most loyal of Jesus's 12 disciples and that his betrayal of Jesus was fabricated by the later gospels for political reasons.

Grossman’s novel presents in continuous narrative the monologue of a stand-up comedian on a hot summer night in Netanya.

The international prize is awarded every year for a single book, which is translated into English and published in the UK. Both novels and short-story collections are eligible.

Each shortlisted author and translator receives £1,000.

A shortlist of six books will be announced on April 20 and a winner will be revealed at a ceremony in London on June 14.

The Man Booker Prize for fiction, which recognises authors writing in English, is awarded in October.