Writers of the Future: Scientology sci-fi front puts on interminable awards show once again
This year, even our longtime friend of the website and former Writers of the Future administrator, Rachel Denk (TheWidowDenk), begged off, telling us she was not feeling up to sitting through two and half hours of the annual awards show that took place Thursday night at the Taglyan Event Center in Los Angeles.
We really couldn’t blame her.
For years, we’ve been reporting on the contest and not only how it’s a front for Scientology, but that it has direct ties with some of Scientology’s abuses.
Every year, a few science fiction types admit to feeling conflicted about being involved in a contest that lavishes attention on writers and illustrators, bringing them to LA for a week of pampering before the very expensive award event itself.
Occasionally, one of the smarter scribes will wonder, hey, this is just a science fiction contest that puts out an anthology that might, at best, sell a few copies to the parents of the young writers who appear in it. Where is all this money coming from?
We first exposed the more ugly truth about the contest at the Village Voice way back in 2012. And since then, we’ve pointed out how the involvement of Emily Jones Goodwin is one of the more visible ties between the contest, Scientology, and Scientology’s practice of ripping families apart.
But hey, this is a party, and they have awards to hand out! Let’s take a look at some of the people who showed up this year.
It breaks our heart to see Emily every year. The readers of this website know what good people her parents Phil and Willie Jones are, and all they want is to see their daughter and also their son Mike. But as ex-Scientologists who have spoken out about the church’s abuses, Phil and Willie are cut off from their own kids. That Emily is such a visible figure at Author Services, Galaxy Press, and the contest only makes it more painful.
As for celebrity involvement, it was not exactly a stellar year. We remember Erika Christensen and Karen Black attending in past years. But this time? Well, there was impressionist Jim Meskimen, always willing to lend a hand when no other celebrities will. He got to share the stage with maybe the best known of the judges, Ender’s Game author Orson Scott Card.
The awards show also scored actress Lee Purcell, a longtime Scientologist who was kind of a big deal in the early 1970s.
And soap star Michelle Stafford also made the scene. Isn’t that special.
What’s especially galling about the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests is that they are legitimately run and highly prestigious awards that recognize fine new writing and artistic talent. But all the talent in the world won’t erase the stink of Author Services Inc’s ownership of the contest, which is not only a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientology, but one that is staffed only by Scientology Sea Org members who have signed billion-year contracts and, like Emily Jones Goodwin, have given up any hopes of a normal life with their families.
We hope that when Scientology’s day of reckoning arrives, the contest can somehow find a way to exist on its own. But without all that ASI cash funding everything, we don’t know if it will.
Bonus items from our tipsters
A big thank you to birthday boy Alex Barnes-Ross, who forwarded us this slick flier announcing that you can get your postulates tweaked this weekend at the Celebrity Centre!
Want to help?
Please consider joining the Underground Bunker as a paid subscriber. Your $7 a month will go a long way to helping this news project stay independent, and you’ll get access to our special material for subscribers. Or, you can support the Underground Bunker with a Paypal contribution to bunkerfund@tonyortega.org, an account administered by the Bunker’s attorney, Scott Pilutik. And by request, this is our Venmo link, and for Zelle, please use (tonyo94 AT gmail). E-mail tips to tonyo94@gmail.com.
Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:
Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
Here’s the link to today’s post at tonyortega.org
And whatever you do, subscribe to this Substack so you get our breaking stories and daily features right to your email inbox every morning.
Paid subscribers get access to two special podcast series…
Up the Bridge: A journey through Scientology’s actual “technology”
Group Therapy: Our round table of rowdy regulars on the week’s news
I just went to Orsen Scott Card’s website and wrote this to him:
“ To Orsen,
I have been a longtime fan of your writing since the beginning. I am disappointed. I saw that you were a judge at the 2024 Writers Of The Future contest. Giving support to a Scientology front group shows me you have not done due diligence. I was a celebrity member for 46 years and lost both my children to the cult when I finally left the organization. Please seriously look into what you are lending your name and reputation. Scientology abuses and fraud are legion. Do the research as if you were writing a story about it. And find out the truth.”
Seeing Emily every year at the awards show is the only time Phil and Willy Jones get to see her. That is beyond sad. At least the workers at ASI have to get at least minimum wage. That is a huge payoff for those who are in Miscavige's favor. Every other Sea bOrg can just eat dirt. 'Minimum wage' doesn't go very far in LA, so how do the ASI workers eat?
Why aren't John Travolta or Tom Cruise 'presenting'? Both have Sci-fi cred and could bring more press attention to the show. I bet that both don't want to be overly, publicly involved in that $cieno show.