Matakana Book Festival returns to the Paradiso
04 October 2025, 9:13 PM
Stories in Bloom: Matakana Book Festival returns to the Paradiso
Matakana’s boutique cinema will trade trailers for tall tales on Saturday 18 October, when the Matakana Book Festival takes over the Paradiso theatre for an afternoon celebrating the written word. From 3:30 to 5:30pm, six writers with close ties to the region will step onto the stage to share the craft and camaraderie of making books and why stories still stitch communities together. Matakana Cinemas
Billed as a chance to “meet the storytellers behind the books,” the festival’s gala gathering is refreshingly simple: one stage, six distinct voices, and plenty of conversation. On the bill are Madeleine Eskedahl (crime), Sharon Fergusson (illustrated books), Maria Gill (true stories), Lauraine Jacobs (cooking), Hugh Major (historical fiction) and Rachel Ray (poetry). It’s a line-up that spans grit and gastronomy, reportage and rhyme a tidy reflection of our reading lives, and of Matakana’s own eclectic tastes. Matakana Cinemas
The setting could hardly be more charming. Matakana Cinemas are known for their characterful auditoria including Paradiso, with its signature ceiling and intimate scale and for the village ritual of taking a glass from the neighbouring bar to your seat. (A glass of wine is included with the festival ticket, which is $30) It’s civilised, sociable, and exactly the sort of place where a Q&A turns into a conversation rather than a queue. Matakana Cinemas
While the gala anchors the programme, the festival’s footprint looks set to ripple across the weekend. Social announcements trail satellite activities across Matakana, Snells Beach and Warkworth on 18–19 October, underscoring that this is more than a single session it’s a local literary moment inviting neighbouring communities to pull up a chair. (Details were still being finalised at time of writing.) Matakana Book Festival Facebook
A glance at the authors hints at the stories in store. Eskedahl’s Matakana-set thrillers have introduced readers around Aotearoa to vineyards with secrets; Jacobs has long been a champion of New Zealand food culture; Gill’s non-fiction makes complex subjects sing for young readers; Major mines the seams of the past; Fergusson brings an illustrator’s eye to the page; Ray keeps the music of language close. It’s an appealing mix that should coax both book-club regulars and the festival-curious from their couches. Matakana Book Festival Facebook
Just outside the cinema doors, Matakana Village Books stands ready for the inevitable post-panel browsing. One of the village’s most beloved independents, the shop is a natural partner for a weekend of reading; expect staff picks, local authors on display, and that satisfying thump of a new book in the tote before you head home.
Practicalities
- Tickets: Book via Matakana Cinemas; $30 (wine included). Ages and non-alcoholic options at venue. Matakana Cinemas
- Venue: Paradiso, Matakana Cinemas, Matakana Village. Boutique seating; arrive early for the best spot. Matakana Cinemas
- Weekend plans: Keep an eye on social channels for additional sessions across Snells Beach and Warkworth on 18–19 October. Facebook
- Make a day of it: The village’s cafés, market, galleries and river walks turn a literary outing into a full Saturday. (See Matakana Village guides for what’s on nearby.)
Matakana has always punched above its weight culturally a village where the cinema is as cherished as the market, and where an independent bookshop anchors the high street. The Matakana Book Festival folds snugly into that identity: convivial, locally flavoured, outward-looking. Whether you come for a signature author, the promise of discovery, or simply the pleasure of hearing good sentences well-spoken in good company, there’s a seat in the Paradiso with your name on it.
CINEMAS
