NOVICE

What NOVICE does

Novice Éditeur (legal entity SAS NOVICE) is an independent French generalist publishing house founded in 2021 by Timothé Guillotin and headquartered at 123 avenue Mozart in Paris's 16th arrondissement. The company publishes approximately 15 titles per year across fiction (literary novels, crime/thriller), political and geopolitical essays, biographies, and historical narrative, with a distinctive editorial positioning around offering second chances to unpublished and debut authors. Its core products are print trade paperbacks sold at retail prices ranging from €5.00 to €24.90, distributed through Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de Normandie, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, and Amazon.

The company's talent acquisition engine consists of two annual writing competitions — the Prix du roman non publié (launched 2020) and the Prix du polar non publié (launched 2021) — co-organized with Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de Normandie, which have produced six novel winners and five crime-fiction winners respectively since inception. All titles share a recognizable visual identity through cover illustrations by Mathieu Persan. Novice operates without proprietary technology, offering no API, SDK, or digital platform beyond a WordPress catalogue site and standard social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).

Novice generates revenue exclusively through one-time book sales (physical and digital) via retail partners and its own website, with no subscription, licensing, or rights-based revenue streams disclosed. The company is privately held and founder-controlled, with a registered share capital of only €6,250, no institutional investors, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding rounds — indicating a bootstrapped, micro-cap operation with approximately 13 employees.

Name

NOVICE

Legal name

SAS NOVICE

Website

https://novice-editeur.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Novice Éditeur is an independent French publishing house founded in 2021 by Timothé Guillotin, publishing ~15 titles per year across fiction, crime/thriller, and political essays, and operating two annual writing competitions with E.Leclerc to source debut authors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Publishing & Author Platforms (BPAMAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing) (MPAJAJAF), Editorial & Production Services (Copyediting, Proofreading, Formatting, Typesetting) (MPAJAJAG)

Keywords

• Independent book publishing
• Literary fiction publishing
• Crime fiction publishing
• Political essay publishing
• Historical narrative publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Novice generates revenue through the sale of published books via retail partners (E.Leclerc, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, Amazon) and directly through its website. Books are sold as individual physical copies at fixed retail prices ranging from €5 to €24.90.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Novice Éditeur is an independent French publishing house that publishes approximately 15 titles per year across literary fiction, crime/thriller, political and geopolitical essays, biographies, and historical narratives. The company operates two annual writing competitions (Prix du roman non publié and Prix du polar non publié) in partnership with Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de Normandie, which serve as talent pipelines for unpublished authors and provide a publication pathway for first-time writers.

Product overview

Novice is an independent, generalist publishing house founded in 2021 that publishes approximately 15 titles per year. The company's product portfolio centers on two main pillars: (1) general fiction novels and (2) political, geopolitical, and economic essays. Novice operates two flagship writing competitions—the Prix du roman non publié and the Prix du polar non publié—that serve as talent pipelines, giving unpublished authors a pathway to publication. The company positions itself around the belief in second chances and new ideas, with an ambition to surface strong and singular voices in both fiction and non-fiction categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prix du roman non publié Annual writing competition co-organized with Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de Normandie that offers unpublished first-time authors an opportunity to get their manuscript published by Novice. Open to writers during designated call-for-manuscripts windows.
• Prix du polar non publié Annual crime/thriller writing competition co-organized with Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de Normandie, offering unpublished authors a chance to have their crime/thriller manuscript published by Novice.
• Novel Catalog (Romans) General fiction novels published by Novice, including first novels from Prix du roman non publié competition winners and established authors, spanning contemporary fiction, historical novels, and literary fiction. Sold via E.Leclerc, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, and Amazon.
• Essais (Essays) Political, geopolitical, and economic essays published by Novice, focusing on original and innovative ideas that challenge conventional thinking. Sold via E.Leclerc, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, and Amazon.
• Thrillers/Polar Crime fiction and thriller novels published by Novice, including winners of the Prix du polar non publié and works by established thriller writers. Sold via E.Leclerc, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, and Amazon.
• Biographies and Récits Historiques Biographical works and historical narratives published by Novice, covering topics from political history to cultural figures. Sold via E.Leclerc, Fnac, Decitre, Cultura, and Amazon.

Quantifiable outcome

• Six Prix du roman non publié winners published (2020–2025: Marion Deshayes, Claire Sibille, Emmanuelle Dutel, Louise Sebillet, Kim Hartmann, Roman Moreaux)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de NormandiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNovice's flagship and defining partnership. Since 2020, Novice and Espaces culturels E.Leclerc de Normandie have co-organized two annual writing competitions — the Prix du roman non publié and the Prix du polar non publié — offering unpublished authors a direct path to publication. This partnership also produced the collaborative book 'Jamais sans mon libraire', a reading guide written by E.Leclerc librari ans, with a preface by Michel-Édouard Leclerc. The collaboration was further extended with the 2024 launch of the Prix du polar non publié, building on the success of the original novel prize.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Éditions Philippe Rey: Independent French publisher of literary fiction, political essays, and non-fiction with a similar generalist editorial line. Closely comparable business model: small independent house publishing original voices in fiction and ideas.
• Sabine Wespieser Éditeur: Independent French literary publisher known for literary fiction, essays, and discovery of emerging voices. Directly comparable in size, editorial identity, and target author profile; co-published Novice author Arièle Butaux's Le Cas Prévert for Livre de poche.
• Éditions Rivages: Independent French publisher specializing in crime fiction (polar) and international literary fiction. Directly comparable on the polar/crime catalog pillar that anchors Novice's Prix du polar non publié competition.
• La Manufacture de Livres: Small French independent publisher with a literary and essay catalog. Comparable in scale, independent ownership structure, and generalist editorial positioning.
• Belfond: Independent French publisher of fiction and non-fiction, including essays and biographical works. Comparable in catalogue mix and in focus on original voices and narrative non-fiction.
• Éditions Héloïse d'Ormesson: Independent French publisher focused on literary fiction, essays, and translations. Comparable in size, independent structure, and editorial taste for singular voices.

Broad incumbents

• Gallimard: Largest French literary publisher, dominant across fiction, essays, and polar. Represents the competitive ceiling in the French market and the typical acquirer of independent houses with proven editorial talent.
• Fayard: Major French publisher with strength in political essays, biographies, and historical narratives. Overlaps with Novice's essays pillar but at much larger scale and broader distribution.
• Actes Sud: Major independent French publisher with broad literary fiction, essays, and translation catalog. Comparable editorial philosophy but at significantly larger scale; represents a target acquirer or aspirational benchmark for a successful independent like Novice.
• Le Seuil: One of France's largest generalist publishers across fiction, essays, and non-fiction. Comparable catalog breadth but vastly larger scale; typical destination for breakout authors moving up from independent houses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/novice.eu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/novice-editeur
• Instagraminstagram.com/novice_editeur/?hl=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NOVICE