Cervantes honours Fernández Cubas’s mastery of the short story

Spanish writer Cristina Fernández Cubas won the 2026 Premio Cervantes on 3 November, Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said at the culture ministry’s headquarters. The €125,000 prize is the top award for books and writing in Spanish.

The jury praised the fresh voice, skill and clear shape of her work. It said her books had renewed the short story and changed how fantasy is written in Spanish.

A prize for the short story

The jury praised her exact style, use of viewpoint and the way silence shapes her stories. It also praised tales that keep their mystery instead of giving readers a safe and easy answer.

Fernández Cubas said the award was a great honour. She was most proud that the judges had praised her work as a writer of short stories. She said that made it a prize for the form and for all who write stories.

Urtasun called her with the news while she was writing. The author said she first thought the unknown number might be a sales call. Officials at the ministry said she was very glad when she heard why he was calling.

From Mi hermana Elba to the Cervantes

Fernández Cubas was born in Arenys de Mar, Barcelona, in 1945. She studied Law and Journalism in Barcelona, then worked as a journalist.

Her first book of stories, Mi hermana Elba, came out in 1980 and set her on the path as a writer. Todos los cuentos brought together much of her earlier work in 2008 and won three book awards.

La habitación de Nona later won the National Narrative Prize, the Critics Prize and the Dulce Chacón Prize. She also won Spain’s national literature prize in 2023.

Her 2025 book Lo que no se ve was her first new book of stories in ten years. She has also written novels, plays, a memoir and a book about Emilia Pardo Bazán.

Seventh woman to win

Fernández Cubas is the seventh woman to win the Cervantes. Since the prize began in 1976, it has gone to seven women and 45 men.

The 2025 winner, Mexican writer Gonzalo Celorio, led this year’s jury. The award will be given on 23 April at the University of Alcalá. There, Fernández Cubas is due to speak about Don Quixote.

Sources: award announcement report, ABC, El Mundo, El Español and El Correo