Hold on to your hats, because the Brisbane Writers Festival is back with its page-turning programming in 2023.

From the 10th to the 14th of May this year, the BWF will present over 150 live events ranging from author talks, panel discussions, workshops and the new Literary Salons.

Aboriginal writer Daniel Browning and Torres Strait Islander writer Samantha Faulkner are among the guest curators for the event.

Brisbane will showcase over 60 local authors alongside notable national and international guests such as Stan Grant, Grace Tame, Tim Winton, Kate Morton, Shehan Karunatilaka, Irvine Welsh, and Gabrielle Zevin.

The BWF has chosen South Korea as its Country of Focus in 2023. Sung-Ae Lee, the Guest Curator, has designed a program that explores the subtle, coded techniques used by South Korean authors to tackle culturally taboo subjects.

Matthew Condon (Brisbane Stories), Megan Daley (Word Play), and Karen Lee (LoveYA) will also be Guest Curators for the event.

'Lost in Translation' begs the question - What's the point of translating the classics into Australia's first languages? Or why do oral cultures like ours need the printed word and what is lost or found in the attempt?

Mr Browning, a proud Bundjalung and Kullilli man, has curated a conversation featuring Dr Clint Bracknell discussing the translation of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Bruce Lee's 'Fistful of Fury' into Noongar.

Lorna Munro also shares her experience translating one of Shakespeare's renowned soliloquies into Wiradjuri, including some of the challenges she faced.

For example, Ms Munro translated the Kings Speech from Shakespeares Henry V into the Wiradjuri langauge, the language of central west of NSW.

"She flipped it (the King's speech) on it's head, so it's basically being told from a Wiradjuri perspective with Wiradjuri warriors," Mr Browning said.

"I wanted to show what isn't always published, what isn't always written," Mr Browning said.

"There's all this work being done on translations, from English to our (Aboriginal) languages."

"I curated Lorna and Clint into this panel called lost in translation about why we bother translating the classics or 'unclassics' into our langauges - what does that even do?"

Panels and conversations led by traditional storytellers will showcase culture and inspire connections. First Nations authors, such as Lionel Fogarty, Brooke Blurton, Alexis Wright, and Lystra Rose, will participate.

Additionally, Regurgitator's Ben Ely and music enthusiast Tony Wellington, accompanied by Brisbane rock scholar Andrew Stafford, will take a trip down memory lane and reflect on the 30th anniversary of the renowned Brisbane band.

BWF runs from 10 to 14 May 2023 with most events held in the Festival hub at the State Library of Queensland in the South Bank Cultural Precinct.

With a diverse program of author panels, speeches and performances, BWF has a story for everyone.

Book your tickets here.