The prestigious Franz Kafka Prize, selected by an international jury from a shortlist of 12 globally recognized writers, will be awarded later this year to acclaimed Israeli author Amos Oz.

Oz is one of the leading writers in Israel today, known not only for his expansive authorship, but also outspoken political activities. He was one of the founders of the “Peace Now” movement, and has been publicly engaged in the discussion about contemporary Zionism.

Some are speculating that this award portends that the author could win the Nobel Prize in literature later this year:

Because of its international scope and recognition of a lifetime body of work, the [Franz Kafka] prize could be seen as pointing the way to the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. The 2004 and 2005 Kafka winners — Elfriede Jelinek and Harold Pinter, respectively — did just that. Other recipients, including Haruki Murakami, Philip Roth and John Banville, have been considered Nobel contenders. Oz is the 13th laureate of the Kafka prize, which began in 2001.

Shmuel Yosef Agnon, better known as Shai (or S.Y.) Agnon, is so far the only Israeli laureate in literature. He was awarded the medal in 1966 together with Nelly Sachs.

There have been ten Israeli Nobel Prize winners in the country’s modern 65-year history. The most recent winner is chemist Prof. Daniel Shechtman, who teaches at Israel’s Technion and won in 2011.

[Photo: Das blaue Sofa / Flickr]