Spanish writer Miguel Delibes dies age 89.

During his adolescence, he joined the School of Arts and Crafts of the city, but had to discontinue his education after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936).

Spanish writer Miguel Delibes dies age 89.

Miguel Delibes, journalist, professor, academic and writer was awarded top honours in Spain, the 'Prince of Asturias Prize' and the 'Cervantes award', died today age 89 after a long illness at his home in Valladolid surrounded by his closest relatives.

The author of 'The Holy Innocents' was born in Valladolid on 17 October 1920. During his adolescence, he joined the School of Arts and Crafts of the city, but had to discontinue his education after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936).

After the conflict, Delibes enrolled in the School of Commerce in his hometown in order to make a future but in an unexpected twist, began working as a cartoonist in the newspaper 'El Norte de Castilla'. The year was 1941, and the author left his job to pursue writing original stories, events and obituaries. However, his literary vocation was born from the study of a manual written by the Commercial Law lawyer Joaquin Garrigues.

At age 26, he married and began writing his first novel, 'The shadow of the cypress is long', which won the 'Premio Nadal in 1947' and boosted his writing career. At the time, he agreed to chair the Valladolid School of Commerce and was appointed deputy director of "El Norte de Castilla '. Six years later, he assumed the leadership of the newspaper, however when faced with continuous censorship, he left El Norte de Castilla three years before the promulgation of the Press Act (1966).
Respected by critics and audiences, Delibes reached the zenith of his literary career during this time with titles like 'red leaf' (1959), 'Rats' (1962) and Five Hours with Mario (1966), among others. However, in 1981 he published his most popular work, 'The Holy Innocents', which was made into a film three years later by director Mario Camus.

In 1973, he was elected to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) and became the chair of the institution two years later. In between, Delibes suffered the death of his wife, who died after a long illness in 1974. The author's literary career suffered after the disappearance of his wife, but Delibes still kept writing titles such as 'The Treasure' (1985) or 'The heretic' (1998).

During this time, he received three major awards from Spanish and international literature, the 'Prince of Asturias Award' (1982), and the "Premio Cervantes' (1993).

The author, who had confessed to living life "through the characters in his novels," left literature in his later years and focused on his family. In 2004, he admitted in an interview that in old age "I survive largely thanks to my family" he said.

In November 2009, Miguel Delibes received the 'Gold Medal of Castilla and León' from the hand of the president of the autonomous region, Juan Vicente Herrera.




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