The Leonese writer Luis Mateo Díez, 81, has been awarded the 2023 Cervantes Prize, the highest recognition in literature in the Spanish language, endowed with 125,000 euros.

The public announcement was made yesterday, November 7, by the Minister of Culture and Sports of Spain, Miquel Iceta.

The jury awarded the prize to Luis Mateo Díez for being "one of the great storytellers of the Spanish language, heir to the Cervantine spirit, writer in the face of all adversity, creator of imaginary worlds and territories."

“With prose, sagacity and a style that make him unique in the literary consideration of the highest level, Luis Mateo Díez surprises and offers continuous and new challenges with which he goes beyond the realm of fantasy and gains the trust of his readers, who make the make-believe universe theirs. In his creations, his expertise and indisputable mastery of language stand out, which the author accredits in a prose in which he masterfully mixes the cultured and the popular.”

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