In June 2005, Paulo received this commemorative plaque from the Prefect of Częstochowa, Poland, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Empik publishing house, which started its activity in 1995 with the publication of The Alchemist, the first Polish translation of Paulo’s 1987 novel.

During this visit, Paulo also had a book signing for his then latest book, The Zahir, which was attended by some 1200 fans.