Sergio Ramirez wins 2017 Cervantes Prize

Sergio Ramirez Mercado, the Nicaraguan author and former politician, has won the 2017 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor. He has written more than 20 novels, including “Margarita, esta linda la mar” (Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea), which won Spain’s prestigious Alfaguara award in 1998. The 125,000-euro ($148,000) Cervantes Prize is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.