# 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
* 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
* 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 (AO)
* Colin Thiele appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)

### Lifetime achievement

| Award | Author |
| Christopher Brennan Award | Gwen Harwood |
| Patrick White Award | Sumner Locke Elliott |

### Literary

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | No award | | |
| ALS Gold Medal | No award | | |
| Colin Roderick Award | Alan Marshall | The Complete Stories of Alan Marshall | Thomas Nelson |

### Fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | No award | | |
| Miles Franklin Award | Ruth Park | Swords and Crowns and Rings | Nelson Books |

### Children and Young Adult

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Eleanor Spence | The October Child | Oxford University Press |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | No award | | |

### Science fiction and fantasy

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Australian SF Achievement Award | Best Australian Science Fiction | David Lake | Walkers on the Sky | DAW Books |

### 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 |

### Non-fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | No award | | |

## Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) 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
Unknown date
* Jennifer Mills — novelist, short story writer and poet

## Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1977 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
* 10 July – Alec Chisholm, journalist, ornithologist and encyclopaedist (born 1890)
* 22 August – Leon Gellert, poet (born 1892)
* 2 September – Pat Flower, playwright, television scriptwriter and crime novelist (born 1914)
* 12 September – Les Haylen, politician, playwright, novelist and journalist (born 1898)