MADRID (AP) 鈥� Spanish author Luis Mateo D铆ez has been awarded the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world鈥檚 highest literary honor, Culture Minister Miquel Iceta said Tuesday.
The prizes are presented each April 23 on the anniversary of the death in 1616 of Miguel de Cervantes, author of 鈥淒on Quixote,鈥� in a ceremony attended by .
Iceta praised D铆ez, 81, 鈥渇or being one of the great narrators of the Spanish language, heir to the Cervantes spirit.鈥�
He described him as a 鈥渨riter in the face of all adversity, a creator of imaginary worlds and territories with a prose, a sagacity and a style that make (his work) unique in literature of the highest level.鈥�
The award includes prize money of 125,000 euros ($134,000).
A member of the Royal Spanish Academy, D铆ez has previously won Spain's National Narrative Prize twice. A prolific writer, he is known for his unreal and dreamlike stories based in the fictional region of Celama.
Venezuelan poet Rafael Cadenas .
The Associated Press
