Top literary prize for a filmmaker

Agence France-Presse

In the poetry section, the Spanish Association of Literary Critics honoured Eduardo Garcia for his "powerful" work "La Vida Nueva" ("The New Life").

The jury in the northern city of Santander said Trueba's third novel showed that the film director, screen writer and actor was more than just "a filmmaker who also writes, because someone who writes a novel like this is not just passing through literature."

It said "Saber Perder" is a novel about "how to survive when everything around you is collapsing."

Trueba debuted as a filmmaker in 1996 with his award-winning picture "La Buena Vida" ("The Good Life"), however his presence in the industry was noticable much earlier with his acting appearances. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film "Two Much", starring Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, a movie that was directed by his brother, Academy Award winner, Fernando Trueba.