American Psycho author at Budapest bookfest

Books are the focus of cultural life in the Hungarian capital. The 15th Budapest International Book Festival gets underway on Thursday. To mark the anniversary, there will be more programmes and a new location: this time the celebration of literature will take place at the Millenáris Park.

The star guest of this year’s book festival is cult author Bret Easton Ellis (pictured above), who has achieved world fame thanks to his relentlessly aggressive books and their film adaptations. His first work Less than Zero was filmed in 1987. American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction followed in 2000 and 2002 respectively.

China, one of the world’s major book producers, is the guest country this year. Although some 20% of the 1.2 million new books published worldwide each year are printed in China and the country has produced a Nobel Prize winner in literature (Gao Xingjian), Chinese literature is relatively unknown in Hungary. In an effort to change that, China will be the focus of the festival this year. More than 60 publishers, leading cultural figures, authors and poets, such as the writers Liu Yumin, Li Qi, and Chen Shixu, will be present.

Further cultural programmes, for example a photo exhibition of preparations for the Olympic Games in Beijing, will be on show. Despite current tensions and ongoing protests against China’s treatment of Tibet, the organisers are not anticipating any disturbances.

www.budapesttimes.hu - Tuesday, April 22, 2008