The X.R.C.O. (X-Rated Critics Organization) will be presenting their 21st yearly awards to members of the adult film community on Thursday, June 2. This is an industry-only event, and one of the biggest industry-only gatherings of the year -- the biggest in L.A.

This year's show will be hosted by KSEX Radio DJ Wankus and adult star Taylor Wane, with Holly Wellin acting as official trophy girl. Jenna Jameson will this year be inducted into the X.R.C.O. (X-Rated Critics Organization) Hall Of Fame.

The XRCO Awards are invitation-only, open only to those who work within the industry and to those who write about them.

This year's list of XRCO nominations is at their new website: www.xrco.com.

About XRCO

The X.R.C.O. (X-Rated Critics Organization) was founded in 1984 to give writers and editors from the adult entertainment industry a voice in selecting the yearly best in X-rated movies. The purpose was to award works of excellence, recognizing specifically the unique qualities of sexually explicit films. Its original membership included writers from Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia.

As the adult medium centralized in Los Angeles, so did the organization's members. With the rise of the Internet, membership has expanded to include writers from major adult web sites. The XRCO remains an organization of, by, and for working critics. Voters include writers from a wide range of adult publications and Internet sites.

The first XRCO Awards were presented in Hollywood on February 14, 1985. The original practice of presenting the awards on Valentine's Day, observed until 1991, became too limiting. The show is a relaxed, low-key affair, more like a big party than a formal presentation and is now usually staged in the spring of the year, usually in April. It is the only awards show in adult entertainment that is not open to the general public. Admission is by invitation only to recognizable members of the adult industry and to the voting members.

Awards are given in some twenty categories, from traditional "Best Movie"-style prizes, to awards that are unique to the XRCO, to those that honor the achievements of individual performers (for example, Unsung Siren, Unsung Swordsman). The XRCO's Adult Movie Hall of Fame was the first such and it remains the keystone of the organization. Inductees must have been industry members for at least ten years, and they are chosen with a rigorous, discriminating selectivity equivalent to that of the professional sports Halls of Fame.

The official photographer of the XRCO is Steve Guess. The late Jim Holliday was the "honorary" historian - a position now filled by founding member Bill Margold as Historian Emeritus.

Beginning in 1984, the Chairman of the XRCO was Jared Rutter. He stepped down in 2004 when his new position at AVN no longer afforded him the time to devote to the XRCO. His contribution over the many years is greatly appreciated.

In May of 2004 two long-time XRCO members, "Dirty Bob" Krotts and Dick Freeman, took over the workload from Jared.