Macao debuts its first city-wide reading festival from 5 through 7 December at the heritage-listed Taipa Houses, positioning itself as a new cultural tourism destination for publishing professionals and literary enthusiasts across the Greater Bay Area.
Event Overview
Per the press release, the free-admission festival, organised by Macao’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, runs 5pm–10pm on 5 December and 3pm–10pm on 6–7 December. The “Reading Vacation” theme integrates literature with leisure programming, including an outdoor library, art book fair, sky cinema, café and cultural-creative market, performance stages, and dedicated chill-out zones. Two Guangdong libraries will host booths, facilitating cross-border publishing dialogue.
Publishing and Partnership Opportunities
The festival explicitly targets cultural tourism and community engagement, offering publishers a platform to showcase titles in a heritage setting while accessing mainland Chinese and international visitors.
A joint exhibition with Hong Kong public libraries – The Inheritance of Chinese Classics – highlights century-long contributions to Chinese classical studies transmission, underlining regional bibliographic collaboration.
Programme Highlights for Industry Professionals
Therapeutic reading sits at the core, with the “Book Travelers” shared reading activity and “Recharge Your Spirit” workshop series designed to demonstrate experiential reading formats. The Family Fairy Tale Cosplay Challenge invites publisher participation for children’s and YA titles, while the Macao Science Centre’s pre-event lecture (30 November) on “life hacking” through reading signals the festival’s focus on practical non-fiction.
Strategic Context
The event incorporates branding from the 15th National Games and National Games for Persons with Disabilities, extending the sports events’ cultural footprint. For publishers, this represents a government-backed initiative blending literature with major national campaigns – opening avenues for sponsorship, licensing, and rights discussions.
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This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
