Irish writer John Banville was named as the winner of the 2014 Prince of Asturias Award for letters on Wednesday
The 68-year-old beat 23 other candidates, including Japanese writer Haruki Markami and novelist Ian McEwan to take the prestigious prize.
"John Banville's prose opens up emotional lyrical spaces through cultural references which revitalize the classical myths and the beauty of the hand of irony," explained the jury, which decided he had won.
He made "intense analysis of the complexity of human beings, which trap us in their descent into darkness or the vileness of the existential fraternity," continued the explanation of why the writer, who win the 2005 Booker Prize for his work "The Sea" was chosen.
Banville has published 16 novels under his own name, eight under the pseudonym of Benjamin Black and has also published various plays and worked as a screenwriter. He has won several other awards, including the 2011 Kafka Prize.
There are eight categories (Letters, Arts, Social Sciences, Communication and Humanities, Scientific and Technical Research, International Cooperation, Sport and Concord) in the Prince of Asturias Awards, with letters the fifth to be decided this year.
The Awards aim to recognize the "scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out at an international level by individuals, institutions or groups of individuals or institutions."
The Award winners will be named at regular intervals between now and September and the winners will receive their prize, which includes a cash award of 50,000 euros (68,000) and a sculpture by artist, Joan Miro, in a gala ceremony held in Oviedo in October.