For the seventh time, Bookstore Night will take place across Poland – a unique event where priests, music, and literary gatherings create an unforgettable atmosphere. Once again, the Universal Reading Foundation is the patron of the event.
This year's edition will connect 156 small bookstores in 44 cities across the country, even reaching Vilnius! Attendees can expect a wealth of attractions prepared by booksellers: meetings with authors and artists, chamber music concerts, DJ sets, workshops for children and adults, book discounts, and the unique events that make Bookstore Night unique – a blind date with a book, a literary photo booth, Hogwarts recruitment, book bingo, and many other literary surprises.
A few words about the history of Bookstore Night
The idea for Bookstore Night was born in 2019 at Azymut, a distribution company operating within the PWN Group. The event arose from the need to highlight small bookstores, which play a key role in cultural and social life. They shape local communities, build culture, and promote reading, and the booksellers who run them passionately share their knowledge and love of books.
Bookstore Night reminds us that these places are more than just sales points – they are spaces for meetings, inspiration and conversations about literature.
Meet your favorite writers and creators
Bookstore Night is primarily about meetings – both with booksellers who will recommend good books, and with creators: writers, translators, illustrators, journalists, and artists.
The guest list for Bookstore Night 2025 includes renowned linguists, journalists, and commentators, including Mariusz Szczygieł, Łukasz Wojtusik, Jan Śpiewak, and Paweł Średziński. Among the writers, poets, and screenwriters will be Barbara Sadurska, winner of the Conrad Award; Filip Zawada, finalist of the Nike Literary Award; and children's literature creators Dominika Czerniak-Chojnacka, Agnieszka Pranica, and Michał Łuczyński.
There will also be illustrators and visual artists, such as Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński, authors of bestselling books Map, Olga Wróbel, author of the blog Dust eaters, Greta Samuel, Magdalena Milert (@pieing), popularizer of knowledge about cities, and brothers Bartosz and Tomasz Minkiewicz, creators of the cult comic book Wilq the Superhero.
The stage artists and musicians included Alicja Janosz and Robert Gonera, who will play the role of a bookseller during Bookstore Night…
The group of people from the world of books, culture and education will be joined by, among others, Elżbieta Żukowska, Stanisław Kryciński, Dr. Leon Popek, Dr. Paweł Sokołowski, Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska, Joanna Czerska-Thomas and Krzysztof Majer – winner of the "Literature in the World" Award.
Bookstore Night for the youngest
As part of this year's Bookstore Night, children will be able to take part in unique workshops and performances:
- A reading aloud of the book "I Am Darkness" by Joanna Miś-Skrzypczak and Agata Balińska, combined with art and illustration workshops on darkness and nocturnal creatures.
- A puppet theatre with fairy tales by Ignacy Krasicki at the Pan Tadeusz Museum, as well as games and active play inspired by literature.
- Comic book workshops with Greta Samuel around the senses, during which children will create their own impressionistic or narrative comic book.
- Creating bookmarks using the embossing method and mini art workshops – e.g., large-scale coloring on the floor or angelic works inspired by literature.
Bookstore Night for older readers
Adults will also find something for themselves – from author meetings, through concerts, to literary games:
- Author meetings and literary discussions, including with Barbara Sadurska, Tomasz Słomczyński, Jan Śpiewak and comic book author Bartosz Minkiewicz.
- Escape rooms and literary games, e.g. "The Lost Manuscript" or literary bingo.
- Concerts and live music, including DJ sets and early music in chamber performances.
- Workshops and art demonstrations, e.g. screen printing, bookbinding for adults and children, creating collages from Japanese magazines.
- Thematic meetings, including discussions about architecture, the history of the region, pop culture, as well as tastings and evenings with a glass of wine.
Fairs and promotions
Book fairs with attractive discounts will be available throughout the night. In addition to book recommendations, bookstores will also have a special catalog to help you plan your purchases and find interesting titles.
Competitions and prizes during Bookstore Night
Attendees will also be able to participate in a unique competition, "Become the Queen or King of Bookstore Night," in which we will reward the most committed literature lovers. Among the participating bookstores, we will also select the "Top Bookstore of Bookstore Night 2025.".
Patronage
This year's edition is held under the patronage of Halina Poświatowska, one of the most outstanding Polish poets, whose work continues to inspire successive generations of readers.
The honorary patronage over the event was assumed by the mayors of the following cities: Warsaw, Sopot, Gdynia, Wrocław, Szczecin, Kraków, Łódź and Poznań, as well as institutions: Polish Chamber of Books, Universal Reading Foundation, National Centre for Culture, Polish Booksellers Association and the City of Literature Foundation. Media patron Is: TVP Culture and the event partner: Toy Market.
The full programme of events and the list of participating bookstores are available at: https://nocksiegarn.pl/program/.
Bookstore Night in a nutshell:
- 155 bookstores
- 44 cities
- Hundreds of literary and musical events
- Thousands of readers meeting in bookstores
- A joint celebration of literature, music and good fun
- This year's poster and visual design was prepared by Pola Augustynowicz
