Possibly the only name to crop up at discussions on internationally renowned Israeli authors. Born in Jerusalem, Avraham B Yehoshua studied Hebrew literature and philosophy, taught in Paris, wrote much-admired novels, spent time as a playwright, and now teaches literature at Haifa University.

For those completely unfamiliar with his work, this is a writer of whom Village Voice wrote: 'Yehoshua's stories find their way right into the unconscious ... Nobel Prizes have been given for less.'

KENZABURO OE

Before him, no one in the Oe clan had ever left the native village hidden on an island off Japan. At 18, he moved to Japan to study French literature and was introduced to the strange realism of Francois Rabelais. From a mottled set of influences came the writing we now know him by. Oe now plans to attempt a new form of literature. Winning the Nobel Prize in 1994 has been encouraging. Readers everywhere wait, patiently.

Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Also See: Poet, Visionary & Prime Minister