Yuval Noah Harari is among the writers longlisted for the 2017 Wellcome book prize. He has made the 12 strong list for his book Homo Deus.

Professor Harari, who is also the author of Sapiens: A brief history of humankind, is a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His book is one of seven non-fiction titles on the list. All the books are intended to “showcase the breadth and depth of our encounters with medicine.”

The judges included author Val MacDiarmid, Cambridge Professors Simon Baron-Cohen and Tim Lewens. Simon Baron-Cohen, academic and author Gemma Cairney and radio producer Di Speirs.

The shortlist will be revealed on March 14 and the winner announced on April 24.

The 2017 Wellcome prize longlist

•    How to Survive a Plague by David France (US)

•    Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari (Israel)

•    When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (US)

•    Mend the Living by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore (France)

•    The Golden Age by Joan London (Australia)

•    Cure by Jo Marchant (UK)

•    The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss (UK)

•    The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee (US)

•    The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (UK)

•    A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived by Adam Rutherford (UK)

•    Miss Jane by Brad Watson (US)

•    I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong (UK)