Carmen Mola is a

collective pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of three Spanish writers of crime thrillers. The real authors are Jorge Díaz,

Agustín Martínez Agustín Martínez (born 1975) is a Spanish noir fiction novelist and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2021 Premio Planeta for ''La Bestia'', written alongside Antonio Mercero and Jorge Díaz under the pen name Carmen Mola. Biography Born in 197 ...

and

Antonio Mercero Antonio Mercero Juldain (7 March 1936 – 12 May 2018) was a Spanish director of the television series ''Verano azul'' and ''Farmacia de guardia''. He is best known as the director of a 1972 surrealist short horror film titled '' La cabina'', w ...

, best known as television scriptwriters. In 2021, the authors won the €1,000,000

Premio Planeta de Novela The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish. It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta. Financially, it is the ...

, the richest literary book or author prize in the world.

Works

Mola is known for "ultra-violent Spanish crime thrillers" featuring police inspector Elena Blanco, and has been described as the Spanish

Elena Ferrante Elena Ferrante () is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of ''Neapolitan Novels'' are her most widely known works. ''Time'' magazine ...

. ''The Beast'' is a historical thriller set in a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic in Madrid in 1834. Her writing was recommended by the '' Instituto de la Mujer de Castilla-La Mancha'' (Women's Institute of

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, , ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, it was created in 1982. The government headquarters are in Toledo, and ...

) as a selected "feminist reading."

Pseudonym

Prior to October 2021, the name Carmen Mola was said by the publisher to be the pseudonym of a female writer born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, a professor in her late 40s and mother of three who wrote crime thrillers in her spare time. After "her" book ''La Bestia'' (''The Beast'') was awarded the 2021

for an unpublished novel, it was revealed during the award ceremony that the name actually represents a group of three men. They are Spanish television scriptwriters Jorge Díaz,

and

, all in their 40s and 50s. The €1,000,000 was the most valuable book or author prize in the world, followed by the Nobel. The three script writers were friends who in 2017 decided to pool their talents writing crime thrillers. There has been some controversy as to why they chose a female pseudonym. The authors said it was purely random, but some critics claimed it was a shrewd marketing move that bordered on the unscrupulous: there had been fake interviews with a woman presumed to be Mola, and a picture on the publisher's website showing a woman with her back to the camera identified as Mola.

Works

*''La novia gitana'' (''The Gypsy Bride'', 2018,

Alfaguara Alfaguara is a Spanish-language publishing house that serves markets in Latin America, Spain and the United States. It was founded by the Spanish writer and Nobel prize winner Camilo José Cela. History and profile Alfaguara was established in ...

, ) *''La red púrpura'' (''The Purple Network'', 2019, Alfaguara, ) *''La nena'' (''The Girl'', 2020, Alfaguara, ) *''La bestia'' (''The Beast'', 2021,

Editorial Planeta Planeta Corporación, S.R.L., doing business as Grupo Planeta (), is a Spanish mass media conglomerate operating in Spain, Portugal, France and Latin America. It is the world's leading Spanish-language book publisher. Editorial Planeta, founded in ...

, ) *''Las madres'' (''The Mothers'', forthcoming 27 September 2022, Alfaguara, )

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mola, Carmen 21st-century pseudonymous writers Collective pseudonyms 21st-century Spanish novelists Spanish crime fiction writers