Indies dominate PBS winter selections

The Poetry Book Society's Winter Selections have been dominated by independent publishers "for the first time ever", while the "prestigious" Winter Choice has been awarded to Raymond Antrobus, published by Penned in the Margins.

Every quarter the society's selectors choose the best newly published poetry collections to send to its members. The Winter Selections are for books published between October and December 2018.

All but one of the PBS Recommendations have gone to poets published by indies: Carrie Etter's The Weather in Normal (Seren), Chris McCabe's The Triumph of Cancer (Penned in the Margins); Roy McFarlane's The Healing Next Time (Nine Arches Press) and John Agard's The Coming of the Little Green Man (Bloodaxe).

Also recommended is Kathleen Jamie's Selected Poems (Picador).

Meanwhile, the PBS Winter Choice is awarded to Antrobus, "one of the UK's most important new voices", for his first full poetry collection, The Perseverance (Penned in the Margins). Antrobus' debut explores his own dual heritage and d/Deaf experience.

The final prize, the Wild Card, which recognises radical new voices, is awarded to Sophie Robinson for Rabbit (Boiler House Press).