Spain's mystery female crime author Carmen Mola turns out to be three men

The literary world in Spain has been thrown into disarray after a prestigious book prize was presented to Carmen Mola, a well-known female thriller author who turned out to be a pen name for three men. On Friday, October 15, at the Planeta awards, television scriptwriters Agustin Martnez, Jorge Diaz, and Antonio Mercero startled attendees, including Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia, by taking to the stage to accept the prize money and disclosed the famed crime author did not exist, reported CNN. The writer, who has been compared to Italy's renowned novelist Elena Ferrante, is characterised as a "Madrid-born author" writing under a pseudonym in order to remain anonymous on Mola's agent website. Mola's website description also includes a sequence of images of an unnamed woman gazing away from the camera. In previous interviews with Spanish media, Martnez, Diaz, and Mercero had described Mola as a female university professor who lived in Madrid with her husband and children. Mola's novels mainly revolve around the character of detective Elena Blanco, whom publisher Penguin Random House describes as a "peculiar and lonely woman" who enjoys "grappa, karaoke, collectors' cars, and sex in SUVs," reported the outlet. The book that received the Planeta prize, however, did not contain a narrative about Blanco. It's called The Beast, a historical thriller set during a cholera outbreak in 1834 that follows a serial killer who is pursued by a journalist, a police officer, and a young woman. Más allá de la utilización de un pseudónimo femenino es que estos tipos llevan años contestando entrevistas. No es solo el nombre es el perfil falso con el que ha tomado a lectorxs y periodistas. Timadores. — Beatriz Gimeno (@BeatrizGimeno1) October 16, 2021 The revelation stunned many literary figures The Mola novels are recognised for being gory and explicit, and the contrast between Mola's alleged life as a married university professor and the violent nature of the books has been used as a marketing strategy in the past. It should be mentioned here that the real identification of the three writers stunned many fellow literary figures and it did not go well with many. Beatriz Gimeno, a writer and feminist who used to be the director of the Women's Institute, a significant national equality organisation in Spain, slammed Martinez, Daiz, and Mercero. "Beyond the use of a female pseudonym, these guys have spent years doing interviews. It is not only the name, it is but also the fake persona they created to entice readers and journalists. Scammers," read the English translation of her tweet in Spanish. Image: Unsplash/Representative

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Spain's mystery female crime author Carmen Mola turns out to be three men

The writer, compared to Italy's renowned novelist Elena Ferrante, is characterised as a "Madrid-born author" writing under a pseudonym to remain anonymous.

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