BUDAPEST, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Cultural Minister Istvan Hiller opened the 15th International Book Festival in Budapest on Thursday.

    The Book Festival this year offers over 50,000 volumes by 600 Hungarian and foreign publishers.

    The guest of honor at the festival is China, which brought over 1,000 books by 70 publishers and introducing its book industry, Chinese authors and its unique culture to the Hungarian audience.

    The other guest of honor is celebrated American author Bret Easton Ellis, whose best-known novel is "American Psycho." Gabor Demszki, Mayor of Budapest conferred the Highest Award of Budapest on him on Thursday.

    The Budapest Book Festival is modeled on the prestigious Frankfurt Fair and is organized each year to match with World Book and Copyright Day on April 23. It will close on April 27.