The Miguel de Cervantes Prize (Spanish: Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language.
| Miguel de Cervantes Prize | |
|---|---|
 Medal of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize | |
| Country | Spain |
| Presented by | Ministry of Culture |
| Reward(s) | €125,000 |
| First awarded | 1976 |
| Website | CervantesPresentacion |
History
editThe prize was established in 1975 by the Ministry of Culture of Spain and first awarded the following year.[1] The Encyclopædia Britannica calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-language literature".[1] The winner receives a monetary award of 125,000 euros, which makes it one of the richest literary prizes in the world.[2] The prize rewards authors from any Spanish-speaking nation and recognizes the recipient's overall body of work.[1] Of the forty-seven prizes awarded in the history of the Cervantes Prize, only six have ever been awarded to women. In 1988, the Spanish writer María Zambrano (1904-1991) was the first female writer to be honored. The award is named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.[2] The candidates are proposed by the Association of Spanish Language Academies (i.e., the Royal Spanish Academy).[3]
As of the presentation of the 2024 award to Álvaro Pombo, the recipients have been recognized for their writing of novels, poetry, short stories, essays, translations, philosophy or dramas – or for combinations thereof. With two winners in 1979, there have been 50 recipients of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize.
The Cervantes Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature
editThree of the 50 winners of the Miguel de Cervantes Prize have also won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Octavio Paz (Cervantes 1981, Nobel 1990) and Mario Vargas Llosa (Cervantes 1994, Nobel 2010), were awarded the Nobel Prize in subsequent years, while Camilo José Cela received the Nobel Prize in 1989 and was awarded the Cervantes Prize in 1995.
Laureates
editThe list of winners is available at the official Premio 'Miguel Cervantes' website.[4]
Laureates per country
editThe following table shows the number of laureates per country:
| Rank | Country | Laureates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Spain |
26 |
| 2 |  Mexico |
6 |
| 3 |  Argentina |
4 |
| 4 |  Chile |
3 |
| 4 |  Cuba |
3 |
| 4 |  Uruguay |
3 |
| 7 |  Colombia |
1 |
| 7 |  Nicaragua |
1 |
| 7 |  Paraguay |
1 |
| 7 |  Peru |
1 |
| 7 |  Venezuela |
1 |
| Total | 50 |
Notes and references
edit- ^ a b c "Cervantes Prize | award". Britannica.com. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
- ^ a b Jonathan Wolfe (November 12, 2015). "Fernando del Paso Wins Miguel de Cervantes Prize". New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ "Miguel de Cervantes". donquijote.org. 2014. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Premio "Miguel de Cervantes"" (in Spanish). Spain: Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ Two awarded in 1979
- ^ "Francisco Brines, premio Cervantes". lavanguardia.com. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
- ^ Fanjul, Sergio C.; Amat, Jordi (Nov 12, 2024). "El escritor español Álvaro Pombo gana el Premio Cervantes 2024". El País.
External links
edit- Miguel de Cervantes Prize at the Ministry of Culture
- Portal dedicado al Premio Cervantes El poder de la palabra (in Spanish)