Poland's fixed book price row: publishers warn of rises, ministry disagrees

A dispute is under way in Poland over a draft law on protecting the book market. Several large publishers belonging to the Publishers' Agreement (Porozumienie Wydawców Książek) have launched a campaign called "Don't raise book prices for Poles". The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN) rejects the claims and speaks of disinformation.

What the ministry proposes

The draft law rests on three pillars. The first is a uniform book price for 12 months after publication. The second is a limit on distribution discounts. The third is mandatory reporting of sales data.

According to the ministry, publishers, importers, distributors and retailers would report sales data to Statistics Poland (GUS) every quarter. GUS would publish annual statistics on the book market. Additional distribution fees would also be banned, so distributors could not pass costs on to publishers or creators.

The draft also provides that an author would receive at least 10% of the cover price and a translator at least 3%.

The publishers' arguments

The campaign includes Znak, Rebis, Muza, Helion, Nasza Księgarnia, Media Rodzina and Zysk i S-ka, among others. They published their statement on Facebook. By their estimates, a fixed price for new releases in the first year rules out promotions, which currently average 30%.

They gave an example: a new release bought today on promotion for PLN 35 would cost PLN 50, the full cover price. They added that PLN 100 buys three books today but would buy only two after the changes. They also warned that new releases could take up to a year to reach subscription services.

The ministry's response

MKiDN spokesman Piotr Jędrzejowski, in a statement to PAP, called the publishers' actions a "broad disinformation campaign". He argues that a uniform price "will make prices more realistic, not raise them". According to the ministry, cover prices are sometimes inflated artificially so that a 35–40% discount can be offered later. Publishers also will not have to build distributors' marketing practices into cover prices.

The ministry told PAP that the draft has gone to the government's Programming Team (Zespół do spraw Programowania Prac Rządu), where comments are being drawn up. The ministry says the text of the provisions will be made public.

On 25 October 2026, Onet Kultura published a letter to the editor in which the Publishers' Agreement sets out its position. According to its description, the organisation has long warned of the effects of a uniform price, passed its concerns to the ministry and worked on a report on the publishing market. It accuses the ministry of ignoring its voice.

What this means for you

For now this is a draft, not law in force. The details, including the scope of the rules, are not yet known. If the law takes effect, it could affect the prices of Polish books bought in Poland. The sources do not say how it would affect mail-order sales abroad, so that effect is uncertain.