Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf was awarded Spain's Prince of Asturias Award for literature Wednesday ahead of 27 other candidates.

The Prince of Asturias Foundation announced the prize in Spain's northern city of Oviedo. It said that Maalouf's explorations of the Mediterranean world from a standpoint of coexistence and tolerance had "made a statement for understanding and the building of bridges between cultures from an intellectual perspective."

Maalouf was born in Beirut in 1949 and his works include "The Crusades through Arab Eyes", "Leo Africanus", "Samarkand" and "The Gardens of Light".

The Prince of Asturias Award, which is worth 50,000 euros (US$60,000), is awarded annually in Spain in eight categories, including the arts, sports and science.