1997 in Australian literature

{{short description|none}}  {{Use Australian English|date = December 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date = December 2019}}

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during '''1997'''.

== Events ==

* David Foster won the Miles Franklin Award for ''The Glade Within the Grove''

== Major publications ==

=== Novels ===

* John Birmingham — ''The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco'' * James Bradley — ''Wrack'' * Peter Carey — ''Jack Maggs'' * J. M. Coetzee — ''Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life'' * Marele Day — ''Lambs of God''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Lambs of God'' by Marele Day|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/95123|access-date= 15 April 2024}}</ref> * Luke Davies — ''Candy'' * Delia Falconer — ''The Service of Clouds''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Service of Clouds'' by Delia Falconer|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1614877|access-date= 15 April 2024}}</ref> * Richard Flanagan — ''The Sound of One Hand Clapping'' * Elizabeth Jolley — ''Lovesong''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Lovesong'' by Elizabeth Jolley|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2984869|access-date= 15 April 2024}}</ref> * Rod Jones — ''Nightpictures''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Nightpictures'' by Rod Jones|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1643605|access-date= 15 April 2024}}</ref> * Melissa Lucashenko — ''Steam Pigs'' * Colleen McCullough — ''Caesar'' * Madeleine St John — ''The Essence of the Thing'' * Tim Winton — ''Blueback'' * Alexis Wright — ''Plains of Promise''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Plains of Promise'' by Alexis Wright|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2956561|access-date= 15 April 2024}}</ref>

=== Children's and young adult fiction ===

* Damien Broderick and Rory Barnes — ''Zones'' * Kim Caraher — ''Up a Gum Tree''<ref>{{cite web|title= Austlit — ''Up a Gum Tree'' by Kim Caraher |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C589491|access-date= 15 April 2024}}</ref> * Isobelle Carmody ** ''Darkfall'' ** ''Greylands'' * Gary Crew and Michael O'Hara — ''The Blue Feather'' * Sonya Hartnett — ''Princes'' * Catherine Jinks — ''Eye to Eye'' * Garth Nix — ''Shade's Children'' * Sarah Walker — ''The Year of Freaking Out'' * Tim Winton — ''Lockie Leonard, Legend''

=== Science fiction and fantasy ===

* Damien Broderick — ''The White Abacus'' * Damien Broderick & David G. Hartwell (edited) — ''Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction'' edited by Damien Broderick & David Hartwell |publisher= ISFDB|url= https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?35286|access-date= 22 May 2024}}</ref> * Sara Douglass ** ''Sinner'' ** ''Threshold'' * Greg Egan ** ''Diaspora'' ** "Reasons to Be Cheerful" * Kim Wilkins — ''The Infernal''

=== Crime ===

* Jon Cleary — ''A Different Turf'' * Peter Corris ** ''The Reward''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Reward'' by Peter Corris|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1650005 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> ** ''The Washington Club''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Washington Club'' by Peter Corris|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1337006 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Garry Disher — ''Fallout''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Fallout'' by Garry Disher|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1390267 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Kerry Greenwood — ''Raisins and Almonds''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Raisins and Almonds'' by Kerry Greenwood|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/140290 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref>

=== Poetry ===

* Peter Boyle — ''The Blue Cloud of Crying''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Blue Cloud of Crying'' by Peter Boyle|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1415436 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Alison Croggon — ''The Blue Gate''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Blue Gate'' by Alison Croggon|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/6761 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Philip Hodgins — ''Selected Poems''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Selected Poems'' by Philip Hodgins|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1480327 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Jill Jones — ''The Book of Possibilities''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Book of Possibilities'' by Jill Jones|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2937899 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Emma Lew — ''The Wild Reply''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Wild Reply'' by Emma Lew|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1435635 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Rhyll McMaster — ''Chemical Bodies: A diary of probable events, 1994–1997''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Chemical Bodies: A diary of probable events, 1994–1997'' by Rhyll McMaster|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/92976 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref>

=== Drama ===

* Hilary Bell — ''Wolf Lullaby''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Wolf Lullaby'' by Hilary bell|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3016919|access-date= 10 May 2024}}</ref> * Leah Purcell and Scott Rankin — ''Box the Pony'' * David Williamson — ''After the Ball''

=== Non-fiction ===

* Mark Raphael Baker — ''The Fiftieth Gate'' * Barbara Blackman — ''Glass after Glass''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Glass after Glass'' by Barbara Blackman|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2981417 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref> * Lynne Hume — ''Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia'' * Roberta Sykes — ''Snake Cradle''<ref>{{cite web|title= ''Snake Cradle'' by Roberta Sykes|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/406610 |access-date= 15 September 2024}}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==

* Morris West {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}} "for service to literature"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870188|title=Morris Langlo West, AM|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055859/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870188 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Barbara Buick {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} "for service to women, particularly through Equal Employment Opportunity Tribunal in Western Australia and to librarianship and publishing, particularly through the promotion of children's literature"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/872728|title=Barbara Buick|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055900/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/872728 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Ken Goodwin (academic) {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} "for service to literature, art administration and education"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/881003|title=Professor Kenneth Leslie Goodwin|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055901/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/881003 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Manfred Jurgensen {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} "for service to literature as a novelist, poet and critic, and as founder of the journal ''Outrider''"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870311|title=Professor Manfred Jurgensen|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055431/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870311 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Edna Laing {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} "for service to the arts and literature through the Creativity Centre, Brisbane"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870609|title=Edna Laing|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055858/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870609 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Rodney Lumer {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} "for service to the arts through the promotion and publication of works by Australian playwrights"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870539|title=Dr Rodney Hugh Lumer|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055900/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870539 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Sydney John Trigellis-Smith {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} "for service to military history as a researcher, author and publisher of several unit histories of campaigns of World War II"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/875380|title=Sydney John Trigellis-Smith|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055856/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/875380 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref> * Albert Ullin {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} "for service to the promotion of children's literature in Australia and overseas"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/871283|title=Albert Henry Ullin|last=|first=|date=|website=honours.pmc.gov.au|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227055856/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/871283 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |access-date=2019-12-27}}</ref>

===Lifetime achievement=== {| class="wikitable" ! Award ! Author |- | '''Christopher Brennan Award'''<ref name="CB1997">{{cite web|title= Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award|publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v539?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=9&count=3|access-date= 12 September 2023}}</ref> | Not awarded |- | '''Patrick White Award'''<ref name="AustlitPWA">{{cite web|title= Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v617?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents|access-date= 8 September 2023}}</ref> | Vivian Smith |- |}

===Literary=== {| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | '''The Age Book of the Year Award'''<ref name="Age1997">{{cite web|title="Aboriginal author has the write stuff to win Age literary award" |publisher= The Age, 17 December 1997, p3|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2521808636|access-date= 16 June 2024|id= {{ProQuest|2521808636}}}}</ref> | Peter Carey | ''Jack Maggs'' | University of Queensland Press |- | '''ALS Gold Medal'''<ref name="ALS">{{cite web|title= ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners |publisher= Association for the Study of Australian Literature|url= https://www.asal.org.au/awards/als-gold-medal/|access-date= 10 January 2024}}</ref> | Robert Dessaix | ''Night Letters'' | Macmillan Books |- | '''Colin Roderick Award'''<ref name="CRA">{{cite web|title= Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners |publisher= James Cook University|url= https://www.jcu.edu.au/foundation-for-australian-literary-studies/roderick-award/previous-winners2|accessdate= 16 January 2024}}</ref> | Peter Edwards | ''A Nation at War'' | Allen & Unwin |- | '''Nita Kibble Literary Award'''<ref name="NitaK1997">{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |date=2009-06-09 |title=Kibble Literary Award |url=https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/ncb/kibble-literary-award |access-date=4 February 2024 |website=Australian National University |language=en-AU}}</ref> | Helen Garner | ''True Stories: Selected Non-Fiction'' | Text Publishing |- |}

===Fiction===

====International====

{| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Category ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | '''Commonwealth Writers' Prize'''<ref name="CWP">{{cite web|title= Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007 |publisher= Commonwealth Foundation|url= http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/uploads/documents/Regional%20Winners%201987-20071.pdf|access-date= 17 January 2024}}</ref> | Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region | Sue Woolfe | ''Leaning Towards Infinity'' | Random House |- |}

====National==== {| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | '''Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature'''<ref name="SLSA">{{cite web|website=State Library of South Australia|url=https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/past-literary-award-winners|title=Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners|access-date=18 April 2024}}</ref> | Not awarded | | |- | '''The Age Book of the Year Award'''<ref name="Age1997" /> | Peter Carey | ''Jack Maggs'' | University of Queensland Press |- | '''The Australian/Vogel Literary Award'''<ref name="Vogel97">{{cite web|title= Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1997|publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v385?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=21&count=3|access-date=16 February 2023}}</ref> | Eva Sallis | ''Hiam'' | Allen and Unwin |- | '''Kathleen Mitchell Award'''<ref>{{cite web|title= Austlit — Kathleen Mitchell Literary Award |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v225|access-date= 7 August 2025}}</ref> | Not awarded | | |- | '''Miles Franklin Award'''<ref name="MFA1997">{{cite web|title= Austlit — Miles Franklin Literary Award : 1997-1999 |publisher= Austlit|url= https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v254?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=24&count=3|access-date= 15 September 2023}}</ref> | David Foster | ''The Glade Within the Grove'' | Vintage |- | '''New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="NSWPLA1997">{{cite web|title="Novelist Drewe carries off a big prize at last" |publisher= Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 1997|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/363360979|access-date= 10 May 2024|id= {{ProQuest|363360979}}}}</ref> | Robert Drewe | ''The Drowner'' | Pan Macmillan Australia |- | '''Victorian Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="vpp1997">{{cite web|title="'Drowner' awarded top prize " |publisher= The Age 18 October 1997, p14|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2521622477|access-date= 16 October 2024|id= {{ProQuest|2521622477}}}}</ref> | Robert Drewe | ''The Drowner'' | Pan Macmillan Australia |- | rowspan=2|'''Western Australian Premier's Book Awards'''<ref name="wapp1997">{{cite web|title="Australian Literary Awards: Western Australian Premier's" |publisher= University Libraries, University of Washington|url=https://guides.lib.uw.edu/c.php?g=341672&p=2299464|access-date= 19 March 2025}}</ref> | Robert Drewe | ''The Drowner'' | Pan Macmillan Australia |- | Gail Jones | ''Fetish Lives'' | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |- |}

===Crime and Mystery===

====National==== {| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Category ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | rowspan=5|'''Ned Kelly Award'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=1997 Ned Kelly Award Winners |url=http://www.austcrimewriters.com/ned-kelly-award-winners/1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327181222/http://www.austcrimewriters.com/ned-kelly-award-winners/3 |archive-date=2016-03-27 |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=Australian Crime Writers}}</ref> |- | Novel | Shane Maloney | ''The Brush-Off'' | Text Publishing |- | rowspan=2|First novel | Peter Temple | ''Bad Debts'' | HarperCollins |- | Peter Doyle | ''Get Rich Quick'' | Mandarin Publishing |- | Lifetime Achievement | Alan Yates | | |- |}

===Children and Young Adult=== {| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Category ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | rowspan=2|'''Children's Book of the Year Award'''<ref name=CBCA1946+>{{cite web|title="CBCA - Previous Winners - 1946 Onwards" |publisher= CBCA|url=https://cbca.blob.core.windows.net/documents/National/CBCA%20Awards%201946%20on.pdf|access-date= 25 August 2025}}</ref> | Older Readers | James Moloney | ''A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove'' | University of Queensland Press |- | Picture Book | Elizabeth Honey | ''Not a Nibble!'' | Little Ark |- | '''New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="NSWPLA1997" /> | Young People's Literature | Junko Morimoto | ''The Two Bullies'' | Random House Australia |- | '''Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction'''<ref name="vpp1997" /> | | Catherine Jinks | ''Pagan's Scribe'' | Omnibus Books |}

===Science fiction and fantasy=== {| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Category ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | rowspan=10|'''Aurealis Award'''<ref>{{cite web|title= "Aurealis Awards 1997"|publisher= SFADB|url= https://www.sfadb.com/Aurealis_Awards_1997|accessdate= 5 February 2026}}</ref> | Sf Novel | Sean Williams | ''Metal Fatigue'' | HarperCollins Publishers |- | Sf Short Story | Leanne Frahm | "Borderline" | ''Borderline'' |- | rowspan=2|Fantasy Novel | Sara Douglass | ''Enchanter'' and ''StarMan'' (The Axis Trilogy) | HarperCollins Publishers |- | Jack Dann | ''The Memory Cathedral'' | Bantam Books |- | Fantasy Short Story | Russell Blackford | "The Sword of God" | ''Dream Weavers'' |- | Horror Novel | Not awarded | | |- | Horror Short Story | Sean Williams | "Passing the Bone" | ''Eidolon'' #20, Summer 1996 |- | rowspan=2|Young Adult Novel | Kerry Greenwood | ''The Broken Wheel'' | HarperCollins Publishers |- | Hilary Bell | ''Mirror, Mirror'' | Hodder Headline |- | Young Adult Short Story | Isobelle Carmody | "Green Monkey Dreams" | ''Green Monkey Dreams'' |- | rowspan=2|'''Australian SF Achievement Award'''<ref>{{cite web|title= "Ditmar Awards 1997"|publisher= SFADB|url= https://www.sfadb.com/Ditmar_Awards_1997|accessdate= 5 February 2026}}</ref> | Best Australian Long Fiction | Lucy Sussex | ''The Scarlet Rider'' | Tor/Forge |- | Best Australian Short Fiction | Russell Blackford | "The Sword of God" | ''Dream Weavers'' |- |}

===Poetry===

{| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | '''Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature'''<ref name="SLSA" /> | Not awarded | | |- | rowspan=2|'''The Age Book of the Year Award'''<ref name="Age1997" /> | Emma Lew | ''The Wild Reply'' | Black Pepper |- | Peter Porter | ''Dragons in their Pleasant Palaces'' | Oxford University Press |- | '''Anne Elder Award'''<ref name="AEA1995-97">{{cite web|title= Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1995-97 |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v148?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=24&count=3|access-date= 12 February 2024}}</ref> | Morgan Yasbincek | ''Night Reversing'' | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |- | '''Grace Leven Prize for Poetry'''<ref name="GLP1994-2001">{{cite web|title= Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 1994-2001 |publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v186?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=9&count=3|access-date= 12 February 2024}}</ref> | Geoffrey Lehmann | ''Collected Poems'' | Heinemann |- | '''Mary Gilmore Award'''<ref name="MGA">{{cite web | title=Mary Gilmore Award | website= Association for the Study of Australian Literature | url=https://www.asal.org.au/awards/mary-gilmore-award/ | access-date=10 February 2024}}</ref> | Morgan Yasbincek | ''Night Reversing'' | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |- | '''New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="NSWPLA1997" /> | Anthony Lawrence | ''The Viewfinder'' | University of Queensland Press |- | '''Victorian Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="vpp1997" /> | Les Murray | ''Subhuman Redneck Poems'' | Duffy and Snellgrove |- | '''Western Australian Premier's Book Awards'''<ref name="wapp1997" /> | Alec Choate | ''The Wheels of Hama: Collected War Poems'' | Victor Publishing |- |}

===Drama===

{| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Category ! Author ! Title |- | rowspan=2|'''New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="NSWPLA1997" /> | FilmScript | Trevor Graham | ''Mabo: Life of an Island Man'' |- | Play | Michael Gurr | ''Jerusalem'' |- | '''Victorian Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="vpp1997" /> | Drama | Michael Gurr | ''Jerusalem'' |- |}

===Non-fiction=== {| class="wikitable" width=100% ! Award ! Category ! Author ! Title ! Publisher |- | '''Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature'''<ref name="SLSA" /> | Not awarded | | |- | '''The Age Book of the Year Award'''<ref name="Age1997" /> | Non-Fiction | Roberta Sykes | ''Snake Cradle'' | Allen and Unwin |- |'''National Biography Award'''<ref name="NBAward">{{cite web|title="National Biography Award – Past Winners" |publisher= State Library of NSW|url=https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/national-biography-award?page=2|access-date= 22 March 2024}}</ref> | Biography | Not awarded | | |- | '''New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="NSWPLA1997" /> | Non-Fiction | Alan Atkinson | ''The Europeans in Australia: A History, Volume One'' | Oxford University Press |- | '''Victorian Premier's Literary Awards'''<ref name="vpp1997" /> | Non-Fiction | Peter Robb | ''Midnight in Sicily'' | Duffy and Snellgrove |}

== Deaths == A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1997 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

* 14 February — Marian Eldridge, short story writer, poet and book reviewer (born 1936)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marian Favel Clair Eldridge (1936-1997)|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A28519 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories |publisher=The University of Queensland}}</ref> * 16 February — Gilbert Mant, journalist and writer (born 1902)<ref name = ADBD1>{{cite web|title= Mant, Gilbert Palmer (1902–1997) by Malcolm Brown |publisher= Australian Dictionary of Biography|url= https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mant-gilbert-palmer-31983|accessdate= 29 June 2023}}</ref> * 8 March — Rupert Lockwood, journalist and author (born 1908)<ref>{{cite web|title= Rupert Ernest Lockwood (1908–1997) by Rowan Cahill |publisher=Australian Dictionary of Biography|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lockwood-rupert-ernest-27609|access-date= 13 November 2023}}</ref> * 14 April — Kit Denton, writer and broadcaster (born 1928)<ref>{{Cite news |date=1997-04-15 |title=Death notice |work=Sydney Morning Herald |via=Ryerson Index}}</ref> * 8 June — George Turner, writer and critic, best known for science fiction novels (born 1916)<ref>{{cite web |title=George Reginald Turner (1916–1997) by Judith Buckrich |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/turner-george-reginald-31464 |access-date=6 January 2024 |publisher=Australian Dictionary of Biography}}</ref> * 11 June — Jill Neville, novelist, playwright and poet (born 1932)<ref name="indie">{{cite web |author=Leitch |first=David |date=1997-06-12 |title=Obituary: Jill Neville (1932-1997)|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-jill-neville-5563498.html |access-date=2024-02-13 |work=The Independent}}</ref> * 16 June — Dal Stivens, novelist and short story writer (born 1911)<ref>{{cite web|title= Austlit — Dal Stivens (1911-1997)|publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A22934|access-date= 23 November 2023}}</ref> * 19 June — David Denholm, author and historian who published fiction under the pseudonym David Forrest and history under his own name (born 1924)<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Forrest (1924-1997)|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A7406 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories |publisher=The University of Queensland}}</ref> * 1 July — David Martin, novelist, poet, playwright, journalist, editor, literary reviewer and lecturer (born 1915)<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Martin (1915-1997)|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A28275 |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories |publisher=The University of Queensland}}</ref> * 2 August — Joyce Dingwell, writer of more than 80 romance novels for Mills & Boon from 1931 to 1986, who also wrote under the pseudonym of Kate Starr (born 1909)<ref>{{cite web|title= Joyce Dingwell (1909-1997)|publisher= Austlit|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A46424|access-date= 16 November 2023}}</ref>

'''Unknown date'''

* Roger Bennett, actor and playwright (born 1948)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roger Bennett (1948-1997)|url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A32220 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=AustLit: Discover Australian Stories |publisher=The University of Queensland}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}} {{Years in Australian literature}}

Category:1997 in Australia Category:Australian literature by year Category:20th-century Australian literature Category:1997 in literature