Addressing the opening ceremony, Culture and Media Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek said that this was a project conducive to all efforts to promote reading.
During the term of the current government, over 20 new bookshops have been opened in Croatia, she added.
The government has also funded the opening of new libraries and the upgrade of old ones, she added.
The head of the Association of Publishers and Booksellers, Slavko Kozina, said that the state of affairs in the publishing sector had improved.
The festival, which will end on 28 May, will focus on writers and topics related to the Pannonian region and Central Europe. It is being held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Media, Osijek-Baranja County and the City of Osijek.
The organisation cost €120,000, and admission to all events will be free.