LEICESTER-BORN literary legend Julian Barnes has won Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Award.
Barnes, 80, burst onto the literary scene in 1980 with his debut novel Flaubert’s Parrot, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
He was shortlisted twice more before finally winning the prize in 2011 with The Sense of an Ending.
His extensive body of work includes 15 novels, four crime novels published under the pen name Dan Kavanaugh, three collections of short stories and ten essays.
Barnes is renowned as one of the best British writers of his generation alongside Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro.
He released what he confirmed will be his final book, Departure(s), in January this year.
As his final novel hits the shelves, Barnes has now been awarded with the prestigious Princess of Asturias Literature Award joining a host of legendary previous winners including Haruki Murakami, Leonard Cohen and Margaret Attwood.
Barnes will receive €50,000 from the Princess of Asturias Foundation which organises the award.
According to the Princess of Asturias Award jury, Barnes is an ‘extraordinary storyteller and essayist, endowed with humour, irony, and, in his own words, a ‘melancholic optimism and cheerful pessimism.’’
In response to the recognition, Barnes said: “I am delighted to receive the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, which I have known about for many years. The value of any award lies in the quality of those who have received it before, and I am deeply honoured to join such a distinguished list of writers from around the world.”
The Princess of Asturias Award began in 1981 and honours contributions to European culture across sport, literature, arts and science.
Other notable winners in the class of 2026 include Lionel Messi and Patti Smith.
The winners will be awarded at an Oviedo ceremony, presided over by Spain’s royal family.
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