News of note for readers: April 29, 2025

Catch up quick with the bookish news of the past few days!

• Jane Gardam, author of Old Filth and The Hollow Land, dies at age 96 (The Guardian and The New York Times) 

• Peter Lovesey, author of British police procedurals, dies at age 88 (The New York Times)

• Philip Pullman announces The Rose Field, the final part of Lyra’s story (The Guardian) 

• A new independent press will focus on male writers (The Guardian) 

• Predicting the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (and how to watch it live) (Electric Literature) 

• This year’s Los Angeles Times Book Prize winners (Book Riot)

• New Nook update adds more fonts but removes bold setting (The eBook Reader) 

• Harry Potter series star John Lithgow surprised by J.K. Rowling backlash (Entertainment Weekly)