diff --git a/jrnl/plugins/template_exporter.py b/jrnl/plugins/template_exporter.py
index 6a5fa86b..85aa2236 100644
--- a/jrnl/plugins/template_exporter.py
+++ b/jrnl/plugins/template_exporter.py
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def __exporter_from_file(template_file):
     """Create a template class from a file"""
     name = os.path.basename(template_file).replace(".template", "")
     template = Template.from_file(template_file)
-    return type("{}Exporter".format(name.title()), (GenericTemplateExporter, ), {
+    return type(str("{}Exporter".format(name.title())), (GenericTemplateExporter, ), {
         "names": [name],
         "extension": template.extension,
         "template": template