At the presentation of the “Planeta” – the highest endowed literary prize in the Spanish-speaking world – there was a surprise: When the author Carmen Mola was honored, it turned out that the successful author does not even exist! What’s going on there?
“La Bestia” is about the hunt for a serial killer in Madrid in 1834. On Friday evening, Carmen Mola’s detective novel won an award in Barcelona. But instead of a woman, to the astonishment of the guests, three men came on stage to pick up the trophy.
The secret of Carmen Mola is now out: Behind the pseudonym are Jorge Díaz, Agustín Martínez and Antonio Mercero, who were previously known as screenwriters. Before “La Bestia” the three wrote a trilogy under the women’s name and pretended that the author was a professor born in Madrid in 1973.
Almost a year ago, the alleged Carmen Mola had announced that there was no reason to reveal her identity, wrote the newspaper “El País”. This year the prize awarded by the Planeta publishing house was increased from 601,000 to one million euros. That apparently changed the mind of the three authors.
King Felipe (2nd from left) and Queen Letizia (2nd from right) with the trio of authors on stagePhoto: JOSEP LAGO / AFP
Under the pseudonym “Carmen Mola”, Alfaguara, which belongs to Penguin Random House, published “La novia gitana” in 2018, “La Red Púrpura” in 2019 and “La Nena” in 2020. A fourth part, “Las Madres”, is due to appear next March. The focus is on the investigations of the police officer Elena Blanco. The books have so far reached a circulation of 400,000 copies.
The prize of 200,000 euros for the participant in the final round went to Paloma Sánchez-Garnica for her book “Últimos días en Berlín” (Last Days in Berlin) about a family caught between the Russian Revolution and the emergence of National Socialism. King Felipe VI was also at the gala in Barcelona. and Queen Letizia present.