American author and activist Susan Sontag has been named the winner of the 2001 Jerusalem Prize. The biannual award—which recognizes writers whose works express the idea of individual freedoms—will be presented to Sontag during the 20th Jerusalem International Book Fair, to be held May 7—11. This year's panel of judges for the prize comprised Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and professors Lena Shillony and Shimon Sandbank of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Sontag's books include The Volcano Lover (1992) and In America (1999), winner of the National Book Award in fiction.