Exemplaire

Exemplaire is a French independent comic book publisher founded in 2021 by comic author Lisa Mandel and engineer Antoine Vittecoq. The house emerged from Mandel's experience self-publishing her book 'Une année exemplaire' via a successful Ulule crowdfunding campaign in 2019, and from a desire to address the precariousness of the comics profession. Exemplaire operates a hybrid model between classical publishing and self-publishing: authors choose their level of involvement, costs are mutualized, and royalties are higher than industry standard and ceded for a short duration. All books are launched through crowdfunding pre-sales on Exemplaire's own website, and successful projects are then sold on the same site and in partner bookshops. The project was announced in November 2020 with a Ulule campaign that raised over €100,000 against a €20,000 goal, and the site opened in April 2021. Exemplaire has since launched a festival in Pantin (from 2023), a manga-style collection called Kopī (September 2024), and a Romance Queer collection (2025). The publisher also created Dégun, a self-publishing assistance platform, to help authors with funding, editing, graphic design, and distribution. Exemplaire positions itself as a fairer, more collaborative alternative in the French comics landscape.

Exemplaire was founded in 2021 by comic book author Lisa Mandel and engineer Antoine Vittecoq. The idea grew out of Mandel's experience self-publishing her book 'Une année exemplaire' through a successful Ulule crowdfunding campaign in 2019. This experience, combined with the precariousness of the comics profession, led to the creation of a publishing house that would offer a fairer model. The project was announced in November 2020 with a Ulule campaign that raised over €100,000 against a €20,000 goal. The website opened in April 2021 with the first book projects. Exemplaire operates a hybrid model between classical publishing and self-publishing: authors choose their level of involvement, costs are mutualized, royalties are higher than in classical publishing and ceded for a short duration. There is editorial selection and follow-up, and artists handle promotion through their existing social media. All books are launched via crowdfunding pre-sales on Exemplaire's own site, and successful projects are then sold on the same site and in partner bookshops. In 2023, a festival Exemplaire began in Pantin. In September 2024, a collection named Kopī (Japanese for 'exemplaire') was launched to publish manga-style books. In 2025, the Romance Queer collection was launched. Exemplaire also created Dégun, a self-publishing assistance platform, to help authors with funding, editing, graphic design, and distribution.

• Lisa Mandel self-publishes 'Une année exemplaire' via Ulule crowdfunding

• Exemplaire project announced with Ulule campaign raising over €100,000

• Exemplaire website opens with first book projects

• Festival Exemplaire launched in Pantin

• Kopī collection launched for manga-style books

• Romance Queer collection launched

A hybrid publisher between classical publishing and self-publishing, offering higher royalties, short rights cessions, and crowdfunding-based pre-sales.

• Une année exemplaire

  Lisa Mandel's self-published book that inspired the creation of Exemplaire.

• Plein Cagnard

  First project of the Romance Queer collection, co-written by Lisa Mandel and Stéphanie Louit.

• Kopī collection

  A collection launched in September 2024 to publish manga-style books.

• Romance Queer collection

  A collection launched in 2025 focusing on queer romance.

1. 1Exemplaire - La maison qui édite autrementexemplaire-editions.fr
2. 2Dégun - Qui sommes-nous ?exemplaire-editions.fr
3. 3Exemplaire - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org
4. 4Wikidata Q125490865wikidata.org