Book sale and book shops
Support us by buying books or volunteering at a book sale, or donating books to sell.
Book sale locations and dates
We run an annual book sale in Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, and Timaru. Dates and locations for each book sale will be published on this page when they are confirmed.
This is held on King's Birthday weekend every year.
When: Friday 29 May to Monday 01 June 2026.
Where: Barber Hall, Waldegrave Street, Palmerston North.
Location of the book sale: to be confirmed.
Dates: to be confirmed.
Palmerston North Red Cross annual book sale
Every year at King’s Birthday Weekend, people from as far away as Australia descend on Palmerston North for the popular-as-ever book sale. Come and find your own bargains, including books, CDs, DVDs, jigsaws, and vinyl records.
Volunteer at a book sale
A huge number of volunteer hours keep our book fairs running smoothly. From book sorting throughout the year, through to making the magic happen on the day – our book fair volunteers go the extra mile.
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in helping in the lead up to and during the fair. This involves setting-up, stocking and re-stocking books, managing sales, and helping pack down.
Find out more about volunteering at our book sale
Donate books for a book sale
You can donate books, CDs, knitting patterns, and magazines.
Due to limited storage, each book fair accepts donations at different times throughout the year. Organisers will make a public call for donations when the time is right. We will update this page when we are ready to accept books for each sale.
Bookshops
We have two permanent bookshops run by our wonderful volunteers in Palmerston North and Whanganui. We sometimes have pop-up bookshops in other areas.
Palmerston North bookshop
200 Church Street (below the Fire Station), Palmerston North Central. This isn't the same address as our Service Centre which is at 245 Main Street.
Whanganui bookshop
73 Liverpool Street, Whanganui.
Donate books to our bookshops
Many of our Red Cross shops also sell books. Information about what your local shop accepts is available on our locations map.
Our Red Cross shops are always looking for volunteers. Find out whether your local shop needs you and get in touch.