Latest news from The Boookseller

Tough US market contributes to export drop, PA figures suggest The colouring book boom and continued strength in UK education publishing was not enough to compensate for tough export markets in 2015, notably in the US, according to statistics collated by the Publishers Association. The invoiced value of UK publishers’ sales of books for export fell 3% year on year in total, to £1.4bn (£1.5bn in 2014), a steeper dip than last year’s decline of 1%.

Guardian First Book Award to close after 17 years The Guardian First Book Award is to close after 17 years due to a crowded "awards landscape" and the financial constraints of running the prize.

Harlequin seeks to be the HQ with new imprint Harlequin is to create a new imprint, bringing all its trade publishing imprints into one place. The new imprint will be called HQ. All of Harlequin’s current trade imprints, including adult fiction imprint Mira and YA imprint INK, will be replaced by HQ. Mills & Boon, which is part of Harlequin, will not be affected. The imprint, which carries the tagline “One Place. Many Stories”, hints at Harlequin’s aims to become the headquarters for a series of genres, including crime, book club and YA.

EC commits to lowering e-book VAT The European Commission has committed to reducing VAT rates on e-books, in an Action Plan announced today; The Bookseller understands later detailed proposals will allow states to reduce VAT on e-books to as low as 5%.

'Publishing in digital age' investigated by parliamentary group The All Party Parliamentary Group on Publishing has launched an investigation into 'UK Publishing in a Modern Digital Age', with the aim of ensuring the industry is "properly developed and supported" by UK government.

Mafia-fighting mothers to HC in global deal HarperCollins has bought world rights to The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the Mafia by award-winning journalist and writer Alex Perry.

Harriet Bourton to join Orion Fiction as publishing director Harriet Bourton, editorial director at Transworld, is joining Orion Fiction as publishing director.

Killer crime series to Trapeze in six-figure pre-empt Trapeze's commissioning editor Sam Eades has pre-empted a debut writer's killer crime series for a six-figure sum within 48 hours of receiving the manuscript.

Lisa Baker to join Aitken Alexander Associates Lisa Baker, currently rights director at Faber and Faber, will be joining Aitken Alexander Associates as director of translation rights in August 2016.