Alon Hilu (www.alonhilu.com) is an Israeli writer and playwright. His new book, the best-sellter "As Far As Possible" (published in 2012 in Hebrew), is being translated into English and Dutch.His former book, "The House of Rajani", was published in 2008 and won Israel's top literary award, the Sapir Prize, in 2009. A historical novel set in 1895 Jaffa, it describes the fascinating relations between Jewish and Palestinian characters locked in a struggle for land and power.In 2004, Alon Hilu published his debut novel, "Death of the Monk", a historical novel which re-tells the story of the blood libel against the Damascus Jews which took place in 1840. The book was translated into several languages, was among the five finalists for the prestigious Sapir prize in 2005, and won the Israeli Presidential prize for a debut novel in 2006 and the Israeli Prime Minister prize in 2008. Alon Hilu was born in Jaffa in 1972, the son of Damascus-born parents. He began writing at the age of 16, creating radio plays for Kol Yisrael's "Reshet Aleph" radio station (edited by Miri Sharf), including a series of radio plays called Key Position about the adventures of a child who comes home to an empty apartment every afternoon.