Successful crime writer Carmen Mola has won Spain’s highest literary award, the Planeta Prize, with a cash prize of 1 million euros (360 million forints) this year, MTI announced. The awards ceremony this weekend also revealed that three screenwriters are hiding behind a female pseudonym and have published their co-books under that name for years.
The special feature of the Plantia Prize is that entries must be submitted under a pseudonym and a pseudonym, so that only the jury will know who has actually been awarded after the decision is made. In this case, there was also a double screw.
After the novel was declared the winner under the pseudonym Sergio Lopez, City of Fire, it was revealed that its original author was Carmen Mola and that the book’s title was The Beast.
All that is known about Carmen Mola so far is that she was born in 1973 and was a teacher. In the past four years, she has published three crime shows, starring Police Chief Elena Blanco, and more than 150,000 copies have been sold in ten different countries.
However, in place of the writer, three screenwriters took the stage and stated that they had been working together under a pseudonym for years.
Agustín Martínez told the Spanish news agency EFE that jointly created works are not valued in literature as in other branches of art, such as painting or music. However, working together is very encouraging because the creators are constantly learning from each other and the talent multiplies as well.
The trio intend to continue working together even after his unveiling, but from now on under his name. They are also working on a television adaptation of the first novel in their crime series The Gypsy Bride.
This honor, founded by the Barcelona publishing company Planeta, was awarded for the 70th time, with the winners receiving the prize from the Royal Party, which has been raised to one million euros this year from 601 thousand euros.
