Lebanese author Rawi Hage won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Thursday, collecting $154,000 in what is billed as the world’s richest prize for a single work of fiction.

Mr. Hage was honored during a ceremony in Dublin City Hall for “De Niro’s Game,” a debut novel about two childhood friends who grow into adulthood in war-torn Beirut and must choose between exile abroad or staying in the city and surviving on crime.

The book overcame competition from seven other better-known finalists, including Patrick McCabe’s “Winterwood” and Yasmina Khadra’s “The Attack.”

Other finalists included Javier Cercas for “The Speed of Light,” Yasmine Gooneratne for “The Sweet and Simple Kind,” Gail Jones for “Dreams of Speaking,” Sayed Kashua for “Let It Be Morning,” and Andrei Makine for “The Woman Who Waited.”

First awarded in 1996, the IMPAC award is meant to promote excellence in world literature. The contest is managed by Dublin City Public Libraries and draws on nominations from librarians around the globe. This year’s 137 nominations came from 162 public library systems in 122 cities.

Previous winners include Per Petterson’s “Out Stealing Horses” (2007) and Colm Toibin’s “The Master” (2006).