Blog: The Miguel de Cervantes Prize for Literature

Looking for a good read while travelling in Latin America? Then tune in to this prize and see some of the best Spanish authors (don’t worry! Translations are generally available!)

Miguel de Cervantes Medal

The prize is named after the author of “Don Quixote” Miguel de Cervantes and was established in 1976 in response to the Booker Prize, or Mann Booker as it is known today. However, it differs from the Booker because it isn’t awarded for a single title, it is awarded for a lifetime’s body of work – so perhaps rather more similar to a “Nobel Prize for Literature”. It is open to any author writing in Spanish, and unlike the Booker, is only awarded to an individual once per lifetime! It is a rich prize, with a purse of 125,000 Euro.

Some previous winners are:

Elena Poniatowska, Mexico. Fuerte es el silencio (Strong is Silence) about the Mexico revolution.

José Manuel Caballero, Spain. Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside) 2002.

Juan Gelman, Argentina. Poet

Carlos Fuentes, Spain. La voluntad y la fortuna (Destiny and Desire) (2008), ISBN 978-1400068807