Magnani is a publishing house dedicated to picture literature. It publishes modern authors, whose works bring in a new way of thinking, seeing and perceiving reality. The book, as an object, stands for our knowhow as well as our conception of the publisher’s profession. The publisher is the stage director and architect of the book. In era time of electronic cultural offerings, we cannot accept a “screen culture” monopoly: the book is the very core of the publisher’s work. Because it is long-lasting, because it is elegant. Magnani wants to offer exceptional stories and pictures that cannot be erased. Julien Magnani
Marion Fayolle The Tenderness of Stones/ La Tendresse des pierres “If I had to choose one element to stand for my father, I would have chosen stones. But not smooth, soft pebbles. No, rather the rocks that sting your feet when you walk barefoot. The rough ones.” In The Tenderness of Stones, 25-year-old illustrator Marion Fayolle depicts her father’s long-term disease. Going through the almost childish writings and drawings, always accurate and delicate, the reader follows the evolution of the symptoms, the patient’s everyday life, the reactions of relatives, and the apparition of healthcare workers in the family life. This absolute masterpiece is about an aborted search of love from a father for his daughter during his agony. A brilliant book, tinged with surrealism. Jean-Luc Godard said of himself: “I am a painter who is doing literature”; this definition fits Marion Fayolle perfectly. “It’s also thanks to the elegance of what is left unsaid that this outstanding book is one of the most beautiful surprises of this year.” Télérama
2014 Official Selection of Angouleme comic book, 144 pages. 247 x 283 mm, hard cover. 2013 €25.90
Julien Magnani Maison/House Focused on architecture, House is a book about an abstract couple looking for ideal accommodation. They visit some twenty houses but can’t find what they are looking for – and finally decide to build their own home. Prior to becoming an independent publisher, Julien Magnani first worked as a graphist and typographer, and published two books with the French publisher MeMo : Le Jouet (The Toy), an alphabet book and a typographic building kit; and Machine à lettres, a picture book created with pieces from a former Meccano set. Just like in his previous books, Julien Magnani draws from a combination of geometric units. Each one of the units was calculated with Le Corbusier’s Modulor. House is also a tribute to the Bauhaus painters and architects, to the De Stijl group and to the Vkoutemas
Picture book, 48 pages. 16.2 x 22.2 mm, soft cover, 2014 €13.90
Annabelle Buxton The White Tiger / Le Tigre Blanc
A child who gets told off by his parents turns into a tiger to defend himself… But soon, he discovers that being someone else is not exactly easy. Annabelle Buxton draws the animal metamorphoses of a little boy on a difficult road. Geometric patterns, engravings – this is a highly inventive picture book. Shortlisted for the Picture book prize at the Montreuil Children’s Book Fair. picture book, 32 pages. 173x230 mm, hard cover. 2012 €14
Marion Fayolle The Painting / Le Tableau
A man falls deeply in love with a woman portrayed on a large painting. She suddenly steps out of the painting to join him... but soon, it appears that she’s not meant to live in this world. Will they manage to be happy together? This book is about love and search of the feminine ideal; it is surreal, poetic and exceptionally well illustrated. “How to solve the scale issue? Interesting question that this small new publishing house shouldn’t ask for itself : if the quality remains that high, there is great hope that it rises among the top publishing houses. Gentleness, sobriety, profoundness… What else can we ask for?” Marine Lendrot, Télérama picture book, 48 pages. 250x173 mm hard cover. 2012 €18.50
Jérémie Fischer and Jean-Baptiste Labrune The Elemouse / L’Éléphouris
An elephant and a mouse have been very close friends for a long time. Their dearest wish is to stay together forever. But one day, an earthquake strikes the jungle; all the animals are mixed up and new hybrid species appear: the vulture and the ostrich become a single creature. The rhino and the tiger too. The elephant and the mouse turn into an Elemouse ! Will the new animals succeed to live in harmony and peace? picture book, 48 pages. 170x170 mm hard cover. 2012 €18.50
Camille Louzon Basile’s Belly / Le Ventre de Basile
Basile has no stomach and has to live on his own. He feels bad about himself and decides to ask a magician for help.The magician gives him the magical power to fill his stomach with anything he wants. Basile tries all the substances to fill the gap in his stomach: water, wood, wool, grass... But freshwater fish, mad cows and joker cats cut his road towards normality ! “It’s marvelously weird, and perfectly executed.” La Revue des livres pour enfants picture book, 48 pages. 177x220 mm Hard cover. 2013. €16
Simon Roussin The Golden Gun Bandit / Le Bandit au Colt d’Or After their parents get killed in the family farm’s attack, Jesse and his brother Henry have to stay by themselves. From their parents, they both inherited high moral principles, and a golden colt. To survive, Jesse finally decides to join a gang of outlaws ; he quickly becomes the famous Golden Gun Bandit. Henry, on the contrary, stays on the straight and narrow... This beautiful western story mixes stagecoach hold-ups, horse rides in the Wild West, bank robberies, ambushes and great emotions ! A spectacular picture book with blazing colors and clean lines. Shortlisted for the Picture book prize at the Montreuil Children’s Book Fair. “The illustrations are breathtaking ; the kind of powerful artwork that you won’t find every day. (…) The reader is struck by the high literary quality of the text. (…) A major book. ” Michèle Petit, La Revue des livres pour enfants
picture book, 64 pages. 217x302 mm hard cover. 2013 €19
Simon Roussin The Raiders / Les Aventuriers
A group of four friends finds a strange machine in a vacant land of their neighborhood. Curious, they enter the machine, and they suddenly find themselves traveling through time back to an ancient Jurassic world. Our fearless heroes decide to explore these fantastic landscapes where dinosaurs still live. But one of the boys is kidnapped by flying creatures from above‌ The great adventure will change the four young adventurers forever. This picture book brings back the adventure genre to former glory. picture book, 32 pages. 250x173 mm hard cover. 2013 ₏14.50
Nyctalope The Nyctalope Magazine was founded in 2007 at the Ecole des Arts décoratifs of Strasbourg by Marion Fayolle, Matthias Malingrey and Simon Roussin. It mixes contemporary illustration and graphic novels. Each year, it collects the works of a dozen of illustrators at the forefront of contemporary creation. Nyctalope n°5 96 pages. 240 x 295 mm soft cover, color, black and white. 2012 € 18,50 Nyctalope n°6 96 pages. 240 x 295 mm soft cover, color, black and white. 2013 € 18
Pan The Pan Magazine is co-founded and co-led by Jérémie Fischer and Jean-Baptiste Labrune. It focuses on the relationship between texts and images in modern literature. The magazine gathers avant-garde works where words and pictures fit well together. Pan n°0 96 pages. 140 x 190 mm soft cover, color, black and white. 2013 € 15 euros
Annabelle Buxton Marion Fayolle Jérémie Fischer Jean-Baptiste Labrune Camille Louzon Julien Magnani Simon Roussin
Annabelle Buxton Annabelle Buxton is a graduate from the Ecole des Arts décoratifs of Strasbourg and from the Estienne Art school of Paris. She is a promising young author, who won in 2011 The Young Talent Prize, awarded by the Academie des sciences des lettres et des Arts d’Alsace. Her first book, Le Tigre blanc (The White Tiger), published by Magnani, is shortlisted for The Picture book prize at Montreuil Children’s Book Fair. In 2013, she was invited by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France to participate in an event about the modern heritage of Maurice Sendak. Published by Magnani : Le Tigre blanc
Marion Fayolle Marion Fayolle is a graduate from the Ecole des Arts décoratifs of Strasbourg. She’s is the key figure of Les Editions Magnani and the designer of their emblem. The surrealistic beauty and strength of her designs are increasingly recognized in France and abroad (she works for The New York Times among others). She is the author of the third book published by Magnani, Le Tableau, which has been acclaimed by critics. Les Editions Magnani are about to publish her masterpiece, La Tendresse des Pierres, a moving autobiographical comic book. The original plates of this comic book will be shown in January 2014 at Angouleme festival ; the exhibition will then travel all around France. Marion Fayolle is also one of the co-founders of Nyctalope Magazine (Éditions Magani). Published by Magnani: Le Tableau La Tendresse des Pierres With other publishers: L’Homme en Pièces, Michel Lagarde Nappe comme Neige, Notari
Jean-Baptiste Labrune A Sorbonne University graduate (Paris), Jean-Baptiste Labrune is a primary school teacher and a writer. He wrote the story of L’Éléphouris, illustrated by Jérémie Fischer. Jérémie Fischer Jérémie Fischer is a graduate from the Ecole des Arts décoratifs of Strasbourg. He works in Paris as a silk-screener printer and an artist. His works mix abstract art and contemporary design, taking advantage of the books’ printing techniques. He published his first book with Jean-Baptiste Labrune at Les Editions Magnani : L’Éléphouris, which caught the attention of the critics. Jeremie Fischer’s work is in the same vein as Bruno Munari’s, Paul Cox’s and Enzo Mari’s. Jérémie Fischer has contributed to Nyctalope Magazine since its creation. With Jean-Baptiste Labrune, he recently co-founded Pan Magazine. Published by Magnani : L’Éléphouris Le Veilleur de Nuit (to be published) With other publishers: Royaume de Quo, Nobrow Alphabet, Orbis Pictus
Camille Louzon Camille Louzon is a graduate from the Ecole des Arts dĂŠcoratifs of Strasbourg. She is the most recent author at Les Editions Magnani. In 2013, she published her first book Le Ventre de Basile at Les Editions Magnani. Her work combines bright color paintings and a falsely naive fanciful universe. She is a contributor of the children paper Biscoto. Published by Magnani: Le Ventre de Basile
Julien Magnani Graduated from the Estienne Scool of Art, Julien Magnani is an independent publisher established in Paris. Fiercely attached to the book as an object, and to the culture of printings, he created the Magnani Editions in 2011. Published by Magnani: Maison Published by MeMo : Le Jouet Machines à Lettres
Simon Roussin Simon Roussin is a graduate from the Ecole des Arts décoratifs of Strasbourg. He is considered as a precursor of a new expressionist trend, mixing minimalist design and innovating color works. He is the author of the first book published by Magnani – Les Aventuriers. His second book, Le Bandit au Colt d’or is shortlisted for The Picture book prize at Montreuil Children’s Book Fair. Simon Roussin’s work is focused on the figure of the hero and the expression of great emotions. He pays tribute to great stories and figures from the past : Hergé, Walter Scott, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Sergio Leone, Enyd Blyton, Alexandre Dumas... He is also the co-founder of Nyctalope Magazine (Éditions Magani). Published by Magnani : Les Aventuriers Le Bandit au Colt d’or With other publishers : Robin Hood, L’Employé du Moi Lemon Jefferson et La Grande Aventure, 2024 HeartBreak Valley, 2024 Barthélémy, Cornélius
Éditions Magnani 45 rue de la Chine 75020 Paris France Foreign rights: Stéphanie Vernet, The Picture Book Agency stephanie@thepicturebookagency.com
www.editions-magnani.com Cover picture : Marion Fayolle Photo : Martin Argyroglo © Magnani, 2014