News of note for readers: March 5, 2025

Catch up quick with the bookish news of the past few days ... or take a deeper dive into each story. Your choice! 

• Author Neil Gaiman has asked a US court to dismiss the civil lawsuit accusing him of rape and sexual assault, saying that since the behavior in the case — which he has denied — took place in New Zealand, it should be heard in that country instead (The Guardian). 

• The two winners of the Bancroft Prize, which for 2025 went to two works in the field of American history, have been revealed: Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal and A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America by James Tejani (The New York Times).

• The 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction finalists have been announced: Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda, Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj, James by Percival Everett, Small Rain by Garth Greenwell, and Colored Television by Danzy Senna (PEN/Faulkner).

• Read an excerpt from Laila Lalami's new release, The Dream Hotel, which imagines a world in which future crimes can be predicted — and those deemed responsible can be held by authorities until the danger has passed (Literary Hub).

• Check out the cover of Angeline Boulley's next novel, Sisters in the Wind, and learn more from the author herself about the novel that comes out September 2 (People).

• Another cover to admire: a deluxe edition of Louise Penny's first Armand Gamache novel, Still Life, containing stenciled edges, a foldout map, and more (series website). 

• Writer Kit de Waal will serve as the headliner of a new UK writing festival; Forthwrite, which takes place March 15 and March 30, celebrates works by women over age fifty (The Guardian).