1997 in literature

See also: 1996 in literature, other events of 1997, 1998 in literature, list of years in literature.

Events

• Tom Clancy signed a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. (both part of Pearson Education), that paid him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . He then signed a second agreement for another US$25 million for a four-year book/multimedia deal. Clancy followed this up with an agreement with Berkley Books for 24 paperbacks to tie in with the an ABC television miniseries in an agreement worth US$22 million bringing the total value of the package to US$97 million.
• The memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, is removed from the ninth-grade English curriculum in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, because it "portrays white people as being horrible, nasty, stupid people."