How you can help

For years aliens have watched our planet, knowing the only way to conquer us is to obtain all our knowledge. Two cone-headed aliens have tried to steal our knowledge every way possible and it’s only a matter of time until they discover the Lifeline Bookfest.

Our planet is under threat and our books aren’t safe!

You can help by watching out for any spaceships and report any sightings of aliens with books.

Help defend our knowledge by heading to the Lifeline Bookfest and buying up big! Let’s leave nothing for the aliens and keep all our knowledge safe.

Help us keep an eye on the pesky aliens. You can watch where we’ve spotted them so far – just click the videos on the homepage.

Details

What: The universe’s largest second-hand booksale!

Why: The Lifeline Bookfest raises much-needed funds for Lifeline Brisbane's free 24-hour Crisis Counselling Telephone Line, free face-to-face counselling services, and support programs for women, children and families.

When: June 12-15
8:30AM - 8PM Saturday 12 June - Monday 14 June
8:30AM - 5PM Tuesday 15 June

Where: The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Merivale St, South Brisbane

How to get there: The Lifeline Bookfest is held in Exhibition Halls 3 and 4 of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Merivale Street, South Brisbane.

For a fee, parking is available beneath the Convention Centre or alternatively you can catch a QR Citytrain to South Brisbane station.

Call TransInfo on 13 12 30 or visit www.transinfo.qld.gov.au for more information on public transport to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Where the funds go
Apart from giving people the opportunity to grab a great book from as little as 20 cents, the Lifeline Bookfest also raises much-needed funds for Lifeline Brisbane's free counselling services.

From humble beginnings, the event now brings in around one-third of Lifeline Brisbane's self-funded income (the majority of profits coming from the sale of second-hand clothes in Lifeline Shops).

These funds help Lifeline Brisbane enhance the lives of children, families and individuals in our community by delivering relevant, accessible counselling and support programs. Some of the support services we provide are:

  • Telephone Counselling – 24 Hour Crisis Line, 13 11 14
  • Free face-to-face Counselling
  • School-based Counselling
  • Financial Counselling
  • Suicide Bereavement Programs
  • Child Therapy
  • Refugee support through the Refugee Claimant Support Centre
  • Domestic Violence groups for women and children

To find out about more about the services we provide, visit the Lifeline Community Care Queensland website or contact Lifeline Brisbane on 3250 1900.

How it works
The Lifeline Bookfest is divided into three sections - High Quality, Priced and Unpriced.

High Quality contains near new and quality stock, as well as rare and collectable books. All books are priced inside the cover.

The Priced section contains a fantastic range of books of medium quality. These books are also priced inside the cover.

The Unpriced section contains more of the 'well-thumbed' books and is where some of the best bargains can be found! The books in this section are not priced individually but will be priced at the checkouts.

Categories
Within each section, books are divided into over 20 categories:

Children's; Australiana; History; Reference; Humour and Oddities; Biography;
Literature and Classics; Textbooks; Travel; Health; Science Fiction; Hardback Fiction; Art and Music; Paperback Fiction; Cooking; Computers; Religion; Foreign Language; Vehicles and War Craft; Hobbies; Sport; Gardening; Animals; Penguins and Pelicans; Economics; Sociology; Philosophy; and Science.

In addition to books, each section carries a range of magazines, stationary, videos, CDs, cassettes and records.

The High Quality and Priced sections are located in Hall 4, with the Unpriced section taking up all of Hall 3.

Please Note: Your books must be paid for and bags sealed before moving onto other sections. This is required as a security measure. The plastic bags used are biodegradable and recycle bins will be available if you would like to transfer your purchase into a green bag on your way out. Green bags will be available for purchase. 

History
To space and back…

For 20 years, human bargain hunters have traversed Queensland to attend the bi-annual phenomenon known as Bookfest.

The event has become decidedly more space-age since its origins in 1989, where books were laid out across hay bales covered with blankets at the old Lifeline warehouse at Bowen Hills.

After a stint at the RNA showgrounds, Bookfest moved to its current home at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in 1997 where it has grown into one of Brisbane’s most anticipated annual events.

Lifeline staff work all year round to make the Lifeline Bookfest happen. Dedicated staff and volunteers sort through around 25 000 books each week to prepare stock for the event.The event now offers more affordable earth knowledge than ever before, with over 2 million books for sale across two giant halls.

And this year, two extra-terrestrial book nerds plan to make the ultimate purchase: World domination!