The Galician writer was awarded yesterday the National Prize for Spanish Letters, which distinguishes all of his literary work, a prize endowed with 40,000 Euros.

The writer and academic José María Merino Sánchez, has been awarded the 2021 National Prize for Spanish Letters for "his mastery and excellence in the creation of fantastic literature in the narrative technique of novels, novellas, short stories and short tales".

The news surprised the winner who was attending the weekly meeting of the Royal Spanish Academy. The award recognizes the work of writers in any of the languages ??of Spain. Bernardo Atxaga, Rosa Montero, and Francisca Aguirre are among the latest laureates. Merino follows Luis Mateo Díez, who was the last recipient of the award and one of the authors with whom he formed during the eighties, the informal Leonese school of the new Spanish narrative.

The jury also highlighted "the intelligence of his theoretical reflections on fiction" and stressed that José María Merino "is a benchmark for successive generations."

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