Governor Andrew Cuomo Aug. 15 announced Colson Whitehead as the state's 12th State Author and Alicia Ostriker as New York's 11th State Poet. Whitehead, novelist, journalist, memoirist, and nonfiction writer will receive the New York State Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction Writers; and poet Ostriker will receive the New York State Walt Whitman Citation of Merit for Poets. "New York has long been an epicenter for arts and culture, and this award celebrates some of the state's most talented and influential writers in their respective fields," Cuomo said. "I'm proud to name renowned writer Colson Whitehead and acclaimed poet Alicia Ostriker for the prestigious positions of State Author and State Poet, recognizing their collective body of work and the impact it has had on the people of New York and beyond." There will be an official inauguration ceremony for Whitehead and Ostriker at 7:30 p.m., Friday, September 28, in the Campus Center on the University at Albany Uptown Campus, 1400 Washington Avenue.