BARCELONA – Spanish journalist-turned-writer Angeles Caso won the Planeta Novel Prize for “Contra el viento” (Against the Wind), the tale of an African woman’s travails in the West.

The award, which comes accompanied by 601,000 euros ($895,000), was presented Thursday night at a gala in Barcelona, home of publishing giant Grupo Planeta.

“Contra el viento” recounts the story of a young woman who flees a tough existence in her native Cape Verde only to discover that life is far from easy in Portugal – her first destination – or Spain, where she ends up.

Caso, 50, says the novel embodies her “two fundamental commitments: the first to literature; and the second, which has grown with the years, to women.”

She said her focus is on women who are “especially invisible” because of their lowly occupations, their race or the simple fact of their gender.

Second-place honors in the 58th edition of the Planeta Prize went to Spanish author Emilio Calderon for “La bailarina y el ingles” (The Dancer and the Englishman), a story set in colonial India.

Nearly 500 novels were submitted for consideration. EFE