AMHERST, Mass. (AP) – Antonio Benitez-Rojo, an award winning author and Spanish professor at Amherst College, has died after a brief illness.

Benitez-Rojo died on Wednesday at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, the college said in a prepared statement. He was 73.

Benitez-Rojo, a native of Cuba who came to the U.S. in 1980, won one of Latin America’s most prestigious literary awards, the Casa de las Americas Prize, in 1967 for his collection of short stories, “Tute de Reyes.”

“Sea of Lentils,” the English translation of his novel “El mar de las lentejas” was selected by the New York Times as one of the Notable Books of 1992.

His 1998 book, “La isla que se repite” was the co-winner of the 1993 Modern Language Association Katherine Singer Kovacs prize for an outstanding book in the field of Latin American and Spanish literature.

He also wrote the award-winning screenplay for the 1979 movie “Los sobrevivientes,” based on one of his short stories.

The novelist, short-story writer and essayist has had his work translated into nine languages.

In 2003, Rojo signed a letter by several intellectuals urging the Cuban government to release 75 political prisoners sentenced to long prison terms after a massive crackdown on dissent in March of that year.

Fourteen of the prisoners were later released.

Benitez-Rojo is survived by his wife, Hilda Benitez, and a son, Jorge. He was predeceased by a daughter, Maria.

A wake is scheduled for Sunday with a burial mass scheduled for Monday at St. Brigid’s Church in Amherst.