The jury for the Miguel de Cervantes Prize for Literature in Spanish has awarded the 2026 prize to cristina fernández cubas. The accolade, presented by the Ministry of Culture, comes with a monetary award of €125,000.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, alongside María José Gálvez, the General Director of Books, Comics, and Reading at the Ministry, during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Culture.
The jury praised fernández cubas for “the originality, excellence, and coherence of a body of work that has renewed the contemporary short story and transformed Spanish fantasy literature. Her solid career has decisively contributed to revaluing the short story, asserting it as an autonomous form of expression capable of achieving maximum aesthetic intensity and existential depth.”
They further noted that “through impeccable narrative precision, absolute mastery of point of view, and the management of silences, her stories become lasting experiences that directly engage the reader, unsettling their certainties by revealing the uncanny in the everyday and questioning the boundaries of reality, identity, and knowledge.”
Additionally, the jury highlighted that “with an unmistakable voice and a creative freedom that has expanded the expressive possibilities of our literature, her work represents a fundamental contribution that establishes cristina fernández cubas as one of the most important figures in Hispanic letters.”
Biography of cristina fernández cubas
Born in Arenys de Mar, Barcelona, in 1945, fernández cubas studied law and journalism in Barcelona, a profession she later pursued. She is recognised as one of Spain's leading authors in the short story genre, with notable works including 'Mi hermana Elba' (1980), 'Los altillos de Brumal' (1983), 'El ángulo del horror' (1990), 'Con Agatha en Estambul' (1994), and 'Parientes pobres del diablo' (2006), which earned her the Setenil Prize for Best Short Story Collection Published in Spain. Her compilation of most of these titles, published in 2008 as 'Todos los cuentos', received the Ciutat de Barcelona Prize for Literature in Spanish, the Salambó Prize for Narrative in Spanish, and the Cálamo Book of the Year Prize. Another of her short story collections, 'La habitación de Nona' (2015), won the Critics' Prize, the Dulce Chacón Prize, and the National Narrative Prize.
About the jury
The jury was chaired by Gonzalo Celorio Blasco, the 2025 Miguel de Cervantes Prize winner, with María José Gálvez serving as vice-chair. Other jury members included:
- Paloma Díaz Mas, representing the Royal Spanish Academy
- Fernando-Ignacio Ondo Ndjeng, representing the Equatorial Guinea Academy of the Spanish Language
- Pilar Blanco Díaz, representing the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE)
- Alejandra Giovanna Amatto Cuña, representing the Union of Latin American and Caribbean Universities (UDUALC)
- Juan David Correa Ulloa, representing the Regional Centre for the Promotion of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLALC)
- Miguel Albero Suárez, representing the Cervantes Institute
- Alfonso Javier Sánchez García, representing the Federation of Associations of Journalists of Spain (FAPE)
- José Factor Méndez Doninelli, representing the Latin American Federation of Journalists (FELAP)
- Isabella Tomassetti, representing the International Association of Hispanists (AIH)
- Guillermo Carnero Arbat, representing the Spanish Association of Literary Critics (AECL)
- Francisca Rubio Gámez, representing the Spanish Association of Writers (ACE)
- Ana Casas Janices, representing the Ministry of Culture
Jesús González González, Deputy Director General for the Promotion of Books, Reading, and Spanish Literature at the Ministry of Culture, served as secretary.
History of the prize
The Cervantes Prize, awarded annually and endowed with €125,000, publicly acknowledges a writer whose body of work has enriched the Hispanic literary legacy. Any author whose literary work is written entirely, or primarily, in Spanish is eligible for the prize. Candidates can be proposed by the Spanish Language Academies, previous award winners, institutions linked to Spanish literature, and jury members.
