1977 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1977.
Events
- Ruth Park won the 1977 Miles Franklin Award for ''Swords and Crowns and Rings''
Major publications
Books
- Jon Cleary – High Road to China
- Sumner Locke Elliott – Water Under the Bridge
- Helen Garner – Monkey Grip
- Thomas Keneally – A Victim of the Aurora
- Colleen McCullough – The Thorn Birds
- Ruth Park – ''Swords and Crowns and Rings''
Short stories
- Frank Moorhouse – ''Tales of Mystery and Romance''
Science fiction and fantasy
- A. Bertram Chandler
- *The Far Traveller
- *Star Courier
- Lee Harding — The Weeping Sky
- David Lake
- *The Right Hand of Dextra
- *The Wildings of Westron
- Cherry Wilder — ''The Luck of Brin's Five''
Children's and young adult fiction
- Joan Phipson – Fly into Danger
- Eleanor Spence – A Candle for Saint Antony
- Patricia Wrightson – ''The Ice is Coming''
Poetry
- Robert Adamson – Cross The Border
- Graeme Curtis – At Last No Reply
- Nancy Keesing – Hails and Farewells
- Jennifer Maiden – Mortal Details
- Les Murray – Ethnic Radio
- John Tranter – ''Crying in Early Infancy: 100 Sonnets''
Drama
- Dorothy Hewett – The Golden Oldies
- Louis Nowra – Inner Voices
- Patrick White – Big Toys
- David Williamson – ''The Club''
Non-fiction
- Blanche d'Alpuget – Mediator: A Biography of Sir Richard Kirby
- Zelda D'Aprano – Zelda: The Becoming of a Woman
- Fred Daly – From Curtin to Kerr
- John Edwards – Life Wasn't Meant to Be Easy: A Political Profile of Malcolm Fraser
- Paul Hasluck – ''Mucking About: An Autobiography''
Awards and honours
Order of Australia
- Eleanor Dark appointed Officer of the Order of Australia
- Colin Thiele appointed Companion of the Order of Australia
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Anne Elder Award | Laurie Duggan | East: Poems 1970-74 | R. Kenny |
| Anne Elder Award | Graeme Curtis | At Last No Reply | Makar Press |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Robert Adamson | Selected Poems | Angus & Robertson |
Drama
| Award | Author | Title |
| AWGIE Award for Stage | Steve J. Spears | The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin |
Births
A list, ordered by date of birth of births in 1977 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.- 7 August — Patrick Holland, novelist and short story writer
- Jennifer Mills — novelist, short story writer and poet
Deaths
A list, ordered by date of death of deaths in 1977 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.- 6 June – George Landen Dann, playwright
- 10 July – Alec Chisholm, journalist, ornithologist and encyclopaedist
- 22 August – Leon Gellert, poet
- 2 September – Pat Flower, playwright, television scriptwriter and crime novelist
- 12 September – Les Haylen, politician, playwright, novelist and journalist