A literature prize of one million euros (9.8 million kroner) has lured three Spanish men out of anonymity, to reveal that they are behind several crime thrillers that are marketed as the work of “Spain’s Elena Ferrante”, writes The Guardian.
The men have published books under the pseudonym “Carmen Mola”, which can be translated to “Carmen is cool”. When one of their books won the lucrative Planeta Prize, the trio appeared publicly to collect the million prize.
Agustín Martínez, Jorge Díaz and Antonio Mercero had published novels and worked as screenwriters under their real names before coming together to write as Mola.
A power achievement about intoxication
– Hidden us behind a name
Their main character in Carmen Mola’s novels is detective Elena Blanco, a “peculiar and lonely woman who loves grappa, karaoke, classic cars and sex in SUVs”, according to the publisher Penguin Random House. The books about Blanco have been published since 2018.
The men, all in their 40s and 50s, denied having chosen a female pseudonym to sell more books.
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“We did not hide behind a woman, we hid behind a name,” Antonio Mercero told the Spanish newspaper El País.
– I do not know if a female pseudonym would sell more than one man, I have no idea, but I doubt it, he continued.
Hailed by Liv Ullmann
Sharp criticism
Beatriz Gimeno, a feminist, author, activist and former head of one of Spain’s national equality bodies, attacked the men for creating a female personality for the promotion of the Carmen Mola books over several years.
– In addition to using a female pseudonym, these guys have been doing interviews for years. It’s not just the name, it’s the fake profile they’ve created to reach readers and journalists. They are scammers, she says on Twitter.
“Carmen Mola”‘s website contains a picture of a woman ignoring the camera.
Last year, the Gimeno Gender Equality Agency recommended one of Mola’s works as part of a selection of books by female authors that could “help us understand the reality and experiences of women at different periods of history and help raise awareness of rights and freedoms.”
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