NEW YORK STATE AUTHOR & NEW YORK STATE POET

September 28, 2018

August, 2018: In Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Colson Whitehead as New York's 12th State Author and Alicia Ostriker has New York's 11th State Poet. 

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Whitehead, novelist, journalist, memoirist, and nonfiction writer received the New York State Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction Writers; and poet Ostriker received the New York State Walt Whitman Citation of Merit for Poets during an evening hosted at the University at Albany.

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The awardees are chosen by panels of jurors, including students, convened by the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany.

"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," Governor 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."