Poetry win rare in Costa

ALCS Member Christopher Reid won the Costa Book of the Year award last night for his collection of poems A Scattering.

The collection was partially written during the later stages of his late wife’s illness. Actress Lucinda Gane lost her battle with cancer in 2005. The work was completed after her death. Mr Reid’s work was described as "intensely moving, compelling and honest".

Author and Chair of the judges Josephine Hart commented: "We feel that what Christopher Reid did was to take a personal tragedy and to make the emotion and the situation universal.”

Colm Toibin, Raphael Selbourne, Graham Farmelo and Patrick Ness made up the rest of the shortlist for the overall prize after each winning in their categories at the start of the month. It is only the 6th time that a book of poetry has won the award since it’s inception in 1971, known until 2006 as the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.

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