Two of Israel’s foremost novelists have been shortlisted for the £50,000 Man Booker International Prize.

A Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman and Judas by Amos Oz are among six novels vying for the prize, awarded to the best translated work of fiction each year.

The others are Compass by French author Mathias Enard, Norwegian novelist Roy Jacobsen’s The Unseen, Dorthe Nors’ Danish novel Mirror, Shoulder, Signal and Fever Dream by Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin.

A Horse Walks Into a Bar, translated by Jessica Cohen, is an exploration of the relationship between performer and the audience set against the tale of an offensive comedian in Netanya falling apart on stage.

Judas, written by former Man Booker finalist Oz and translated by Nicholas de Lange, is a coming-of-age story about a young Israeli researcher living in 1950s Jerusalem.

Nick Barley, chairman of the 2017 Man Booker International Prize judging panel, said: “Our shortlist spans the epic and the everyday. From fevered dreams to sleepless nights, from remote islands to overwhelming cities, these wonderful novels shine a light on compelling individuals struggling to make sense of their place in a complex world.”

The winner will be announced on June 14 at a ceremony at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

The £50,000 prize will be divided equally between the author and the translator of the winning entry.