The SyUniverse Group, which operates Airlock Alpha, has announced the addition of two new writers to Airlock Alpha, who are expecting to make their debut sometime this week.

Richard Boykin and Alan Stanley Blair will begin sharing writing duties with Airlock Alpha founder and news editor Michael Hinman, who is stepping back to take a well-deserved break after writing for the site for more than five years. Hinman will then work with members of the SyUniverse group for a planned expansion of the SyFy brand in plans that are expected to be announced after the SyFy Genre Awards complete.

"Both Richard and Alan have been friends of Airlock Alpha for years, and we're all proud that they'll be joining us on our writing staff," Hinman said. "Airlock Alpha is always growing, and we are very fortunate to have the talent of both Richard and Alan to help continue SyFy's longstanding tradition of strong writing, and stories that are relevant to the tens of thousands of readers that visit the site each day."

With Blair's addition, the site's writing staff goes international. Blair, 19, is a full-time university student studying computer science at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. He works part-time in a local Disney Store in East Kilbride, Scotland, and is a big fan of the television show, "Alias." He also said he's a fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Farscape," "Stargate SG-1" and "Smallville." All of those properties (except for "Alias") are covered by Airlock Alpha.

Blair said he first discovered Airlock Alpha back when it was known as SyFy World. He was a member of the "Earth: Final Conflict" fanbase, the show that helped make SyFy a name among genre fans with our exclusive reporting and high-ranking sources.

Boykin is the youngest member of the team, and is a student at Oshkosh North High School in Oshkosh, Wis. He celebrated his 17th birthday earlier this week, and works part-time as an assistant manager for an Arby's restaurant. He's also a computer tech apprentice.

Boykin was the editor-in-chief of his school newspaper in middle school, and briefly ran several small newsletters. He also said he is a big Star Trek fan.

"Expanding the writing team will take a lot of work off our editor, Michael Hinman," said Don Smith, project coordinator of the SyUniverse Group. "This will allow him to focus mainly on editing and special projects, like our SyFy Genre Awards. Mike deserves the help after the many years he's taken the burdern of SyFy's news solely on his shoulders. Mike has handpicked these two talents because of their interest in genre television and film, and their previous experience writing."

Airlock Alpha was founded in 1998 as SyFy World by Hinman, who is a newspaper editor in Tampa, Fla. In 2000, it merged with Star Trek Portal to become Airlock Alpha. It covers many different science-fiction, comic book and fantasy television and movie properties, and is home to the largest virtual awards program in the world, the SyFy Genre Awards.

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