The winners of the 1997 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced on November 18 by Donna Scott, Chairman of the Canada Council for the Arts. Each winner received a cheque for $10,000.
English
{|class="wikitable" width="100%"
!width=15%|Category
!width=30%|Winner
!width=55%|Nominated
|-
| align="center"| Fiction
| Jane Urquhart, The Underpainter
|
- Sandra Birdsell, The Two-Headed Calf
- Matt Cohen, Last Seen
- Elizabeth Hay, Small Change
- Eric McCormack, First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women
|-
| align="center"| Non-fiction
| Rachel Manley, Drumblair – Memories of a Jamaican Childhood
|
- Wade Davis, One River: Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rain Forest
- Catherine Dunphy, Morgentaler: A Difficult Hero
- Terry Glavin, This Ragged Place – Travels Across the Landscape
- Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser, Loyal till Death – Indians and the North-West Rebellion
|-
| align="center"| Poetry
| Dionne Brand, Land to Light On
|
- Marilyn Bowering, Autobiography
- Patrick Friesen, A Broken Bowl
- Carole Glasser Langille, In Cannon Cave
- Don McKay, Apparatus
|-
| align="center"| Drama
| Ian Ross, FareWel
|
- Maureen Hunter, Atlantis
- Lee MacDougall, High Life
- Jason Sherman, Reading Hebron
- Judith Thompson, Sled
|-
| align="center"| Children's literature
| Kit Pearson, Awake and Dreaming
|
- Cheryl Foggo, One Thing That's True
- James Heneghan, Wish Me Luck
- Teddy Jam, The Fishing Summer
- Barbara Nichol, Dippers
|-
| align="center"| Children's illustration
| Barbara Reid, The Party
|
- Blair Drawson, Flying Dimitri
- Marie-Louise Gay, Rumpelstiltskin
- Robin Muller, The Angel Tree
- Ludmila Zeman, The First Red Maple Leaf
|-
| align="center"| French to English translation
| Howard Scott, The Euguelion
|
- Jane Brierley, Canadians of Old
- Patricia Claxton, Baroque at Dawn
- David Homel, A Drifting Year
- Nancy Huston, The Goldberg Variations
|}
French
{|class="wikitable" width="100%"
!width=15%|Category
!width=30%|Winner
!width=55%|Nominated
|-
| align="center"| Fiction
| Aude, Cet imperceptible mouvement
|
- Bernard Assiniwi, La Saga des Béothuks
- Lise Bissonnette, Quittes et Doubles – Scènes de réciprocité
- Pierre Morency, La Vie entière – Histoires naturelles du Nouveau Monde
- Pierre Ouellet, Légende dorée
|-
| align="center"| Non-fiction
| Roland Viau, Enfants du néant et mangeurs d'âmes – Guerre, culture et société en Iroquoisie ancienne
|
- Fernand Dumont, Une foi partagée
- Yolande Geadah, Femmes voilées, intégrismes démasqués
- Alain Bernard Marchand, Tintin au pays de la ferveur
- François Ricard, Gabrielle Roy – Une vie
|-
| align="center"| Poetry
| Pierre Nepveu, Romans-fleuves
|
- Nicole Brossard, Vertige de l'avant-scène
- Serge Legagneur, Poèmes choisis, 1961–1997
- Paul Chanel Malenfant, Fleuves
- Hélène Monette, Plaisirs et Paysages kitsch
|-
| align="center"| Drama
| Yvan Bienvenue, Dits et Inédits
|
- Jasmine Dubé, La Bonne Femme
- Marie-Line Laplante, Une tache sur la lune
- Robert Marinier, L'Insomnie
- Larry Tremblay, Ogre – Cornemuse
|-
| align="center"| Children's literature
| Michel Noël, Pien
|
- Dominique Demers, Maïna, tomes 1 et 2
- Agathe Génois, Sarah, je suis là!
- Jacques Godbout, Une leçon de chasse
- Maryse Pelletier, Une vie en éclats
|-
| align="center"| Children's illustration
| Stéphane Poulin, Poil de serpent, dent d'araignée
|
- Leanne Franson, L'Ourson qui voulait une Juliette
- Stéphane Jorisch, Casse-Noisette
- Gilles Tibo, Simon et le petit cirque
|-
| align="center"| English to French translation
| Marie José Thériault, Arracher les montagnes
|
- François Barcelo, La Face cachée des pierres
- Nicole Côté, Verre de tempête
- Pierrot Lambert, L'Insight: Étude de la compréhension humaine
|}