[snip] More pyramid-selling scam than religion I was greatly amused by Andrea Grant-Webb regarding ‘L Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future’ (Irish News, April 13).

Ms Webb curiously omits to mention that Mr Hubbard was the founder of the cult now known as Scientology, and that she is presumably an employee of either Author Services Incorporated or of New Era/Bridge Publishing--both fronts for the cult, and both based in East Grinstead.

She is also incorrect to class Hubbard as a "top sci-fi writer".

Neither Battlefield Earth nor the Mission Earth series were bestsellers.

Hubbard taught that all that restricted humanity’s potential was its accretions of "Thetans"-- the souls of aliens slaughtered in a nuclear explosion by Galactic Warlord Xenu several million years ago.

Only through the prolonged and expensive process of "auditing"-- telling a Scientologist with a tape recorder about everything evil one has ever done--can one be freed of these "Thetans".

Hubbard died in 1986.

The cult has been condemned throughout the world, and the home office resists their campaign for recognition as a Church.

More of a pyramid-selling scam than a religion, much of the cult’s money comes from the sale of extraordinarily expensive books to cultists--books which, it should be noted, have the same publisher as Ms Webb’s anthology.

Budding authors should know that four UK writers have had their stories featured in these anthologies--out of just under 200 published, if Ms Webb’s figures are correct.

CLAM, London W9 [snip]

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