Planet Award
From among a large sea of 654 titles, the 2021 Planet Prize jury chose the thriller Historical Fire city —Of Sergio López (pseudonym) - as the winning work of the million euros of the 70th edition of the famous contest. The novel that was the finalist was Children of wrath - Yuri Zhivago (pseudonym) - and his prize money was two hundred thousand euros.
The National Art Museum of Catalonia served as the setting - with the kings of Spain as witnesses - for the unusual evening of the award ceremony, the most unusual in its history. The Planet 2021 award was not only won by a woman who does not exist, but this, in turn, was embodied by three men. And as if this were not enough, in the hours prior to its delivery, the contest premium went from 601.000 to 1 million euros, which makes it the richest literature contest in history —beating the Nobel Prize by 10. euros.
The Winners: The Minds Behind Bestselling Writer Carmen Mola
For four years now, the name of Carmen Mola had been reverberating - and continues - in the literary world. And is not for less, It was about an author who had decided to remain anonymous despite having sold more than 400.000 copies with his trilogy The gypsy bride. However, all mystery comes to an end, and if this conclusion comes from the hand of a succulent international seven-figure prize, then welcome.
It could be said, then, that these words of Carmen Mola in a questionnaire interview were prophetic: “I have no reason to willingly reveal my identity, although we can always put an extra zero on the check; I'd better never consider this possibility ”. The reason came ...
And if: delivery of Planet Award 2021 was the perfect excuse for one of the greatest literary enigmas of the last decade to come to light. Behind Sergio López (pseudonym) and his de Fire city, was the pen of Carmen Mola, and behind her ingenuity —to be able to receive the prize in cash— the minds of Antonio Mercero, Jorge Díaz and Agustín Martínez.
And good, now you understand why in another interview via email, Mola wrote: "I admit that I have lied about almost everything." He should have been listened to.
About the authors who created Carmen Mola
The delivery of this award is no coincidence, nor is the success that the fictitious author reaped during her four years of existence. Here is a summary of the literary careers of the award-winning writers:
Jorge Diaz (1962)
He is an author with a long career —the oldest of the three—, to whom are novels such as The justice of the wanderers (2012) y I have in me all the dreams of the world (2017). Díaz has also stood out as a scriptwriter for television series.
Antonio Mercero (1969)
In age, he is the middle of the trio of creators. Also a novelist, their works stand out Inattentive life (2014) and The case of the dead Japanese women (2018) Likewise, the writer has excelled in the world of comics with his title Violet (2018)
Agustin Martinez (1975)
He is the youngest of the group, but not the least talented. In addition to being a novelist —With works such as Mount lost (2015) -, He is a scriptwriter of series, among which excel success Without boobs there is no paradise.
An equally winning finalist
Paloma Sanchez-Garnica
Paloma Sánchez-Garnica (1962) won the position of finalist with Last days in BerlinWhich presented with the name Children of wrath under the pseudonym Yuri Zhivago. It is a well-deserved recognition, both for its extensive career, and for the quality of its plots and settings. Works such as:
- The great arcanum (2006)
- The east breeze (2009)
- The soul of the stones (2010)
- The three wounds (2012)
- The sonata of silence (2014)
- My memory is stronger than your forgetfulness (2016, Fernando Lara award of the same year)
- Sofia's suspicion (2019)
The jury of the 70th edition of the Planeta Prize
The prestigious jury that chose the winners of the contest was made up of:
- Belén López (editorial director of Planeta)
- José Manuel Blecua (Spanish philologist and academic)
- Carmen Posadas (writer)
- Rosa Regàs (writer)
- Fernando Delgado (writer)
- Juan Eslava (writer)
- Pere Gimferrer (writer)
Controversy in the world of feminist literature before the revelation of the identity of Carmen Mola
As previously commented, carmen mola had become a cult figure in recent years within the world of thriller Spanish literary. Such was her impact that the feminist collective championed her as a figure, a remarkable example of an example to follow. The Women's Institute had even added her work to its section on “feminist reading”, a space that it shares - or shared - with writers of the stature of Irene Vallejo and Margaret Atwood.
However, and with reasons to spare, after revealing the true identity of the fictional character, the icon collapsed for many representatives of Spanish feminism. In this regard, Beatriz Gimeno —writer, feminist and who at the time held the position of director of the Women's Institute— published on her Twitter profile: “Beyond the use of a female pseudonym, these guys have been answering interviews for years . It is not just the name, it is the false profile with which he has taken readers and journalists. Scammers ”.
For its part, the Madrilenian bookstore Mujeres & Compañía He stated: “Our contribution to the Carmen Mola hashtag, but it is Mola more than the gentlemen do not occupy it all. #CarmenMola ”. Then: they removed all copies of the fictional author's work from their shelves.