American playwright Arthur Miller became the first American writer to win the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature.
The honor has traditionally gone to major Spanish and Latin American literary figures such as Mario Vargas Llosa, Camilo Jose Cela and Carlos Fuentes.
Miller, who won the Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman," was chosen Wednesday in Oviedo, Spain, from among 24 nominees from 15 countries, including the Portuguese writer Antonio Lobo Antunes and Ernesto Sabato of Argentina.
"With an independence of spirit and remarkable critical sense, he has conveyed from the stage the anxieties, the conflicts and the aspirations of contemporary society," the 15-member jury noted.
The prize also has gone to German novelist Guenter Grass, who won in 1999, and Doris Lessing of Britain, winner of last year's award.