Quick Facts
- Spanish in full:
- Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes
- Related Topics:
- The arts
- Notable Honorees:
- Mario Vargas Llosa
- Jorge Luis Borges
- Carlos Fuentes
- Octavio Paz
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Eduardo Mendoza
Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza speaking at a press conference after receiving the Cervantes Prize, 2016.
Cervantes Prize
annual literary prize
Also known as: Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes(Show More)
News •
Cristina Fernández Cubas wins 2026 Cervantes Prize for Spanish literature
• Nov. 3, 2026, 4:17 PM ET (Euronews)
Cervantes Prize, literary award established in 1975 by the Spanish Ministry of Culture; the prize was first awarded the following year. It is the most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-language literature. The Cervantes Prize is presented to an author whose Castilian-language work as a whole is judged to have most enriched Spanish and Spanish-American culture. The award—which is named for Miguel de Cervantes, the most important and celebrated figure in Spanish literature—is given annually, and there can be no cowinners.
Winners of the Cervantes Prize are listed in the table.
| year | recipient | country of origin |
|---|---|---|
| *Awarded to multiple authors at judges' discretion. | ||
| 1976 | Jorge Guillén | Spain |
| 1977 | Alejo Carpentier | Cuba |
| 1978 | Dámaso Alonso | Spain |
| 1979 | Jorge Luis Borges* | Argentina |
| 1979 | Gerardo Diego* | Spain |
| 1980 | Juan Carlos Onetti | Uruguay |
| 1981 | Octavio Paz | Mexico |
| 1982 | Luis Rosales | Spain |
| 1983 | Rafael Alberti | Spain |
| 1984 | Ernesto Sábato | Argentina |
| 1985 | Gonzalo Torrente Ballester | Spain |
| 1986 | Antonio Buero Vallejo | Spain |
| 1987 | Carlos Fuentes | Mexico |
| 1988 | Maria Zambrano | Spain |
| 1989 | Augusto Roa Bastos | Paraguay |
| 1990 | Adolfo Bioy Casares | Argentina |
| 1991 | Francisco Ayala | Spain |
| 1992 | Dulce María Loynaz | Cuba |
| 1993 | Miguel Delibes | Spain |
| 1994 | Mario Vargas Llosa | Peru |
| 1995 | Camilo José Cela | Spain |
| 1996 | José García Nieto | Spain |
| 1997 | Guillermo Cabrera Infante | Cuba |
| 1998 | José Hierro | Spain |
| 1999 | Jorge Edwards | Chile |
| 2000 | Francisco Umbral | Spain |
| 2001 | Álvaro Mutis | Colombia |
| 2002 | José Jiménez Lozano | Spain |
| 2003 | Gonzalo Rojas | Chile |
| 2004 | Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio | Spain |
| 2005 | Sergio Pitol | Mexico |
| 2006 | Antonio Gamoneda | Spain |
| 2007 | Juan Gelman | Argentina |
| 2008 | Juan Marsé | Spain |
| 2009 | José Emilio Pacheco | Mexico |
| 2010 | Ana María Matute | Spain |
| 2011 | Nicanor Parra | Chile |
| 2012 | José Manuel Caballero Bonald | Spain |
| 2013 | Elena Poniatowska | Mexico |
| 2014 | Juan Goytisolo | Spain |
| 2015 | Fernando del Paso | Mexico |
| 2016 | Eduardo Mendoza | Spain |
| 2017 | Sergio Ramírez | Nicaragua |
| 2018 | Ida Vitale | Uruguay |
| 2019 | Joan Margarit | Spain |
| 2020 | Francisco Brines | Spain |
| 2021 | Cristina Peri Rossi | Uruguay |
| 2022 | Rafael Cadenas | Venezuela |
| 2023 | Luis Mateo Díez | Spain |
| 2024 | Álvaro Pombo | Spain |
| 2025 | Gonzalo Celorio | Mexico |
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.
Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.