Cultural Heritage

The Story of Suzanne Aubert by Jessie Munro (Auckland University Press & Bridget Williams Books, 1996)

Fiction

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? by Alan Duff (Vintage, 1996)

Poetry

An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry in English edited by Jenny Bornholdt and Gregory O'Brien and Mark Williams (Oxford University Press, 1997)

Illustrative Arts

Mataora: The Living Face: Contemporary Māori Art edited by Sandy Adsett and Cliff Whiting and Witi Ihimaera (David Bateman, 1996)

Natural Heritage

New Zealand Coast and Mountain Plants: Their Communities and Lifestyles by John Dawson, photography by Rob Lucas (Victoria University Press, 1996)

Leisure & Lifestyle

The Wines and Vineyards of New Zealand by Michael Cooper, photography by John McDermott (Hodder Moa Beckett, 1996)

Honour Award, Fiction

Dove on the Waters by Maurice Shadbolt (David Ling, 1996)

Honour Award, Poetry

Dedications by J. C. Sturm (Steele Roberts, 1996)

The NZSA Hubert Church Award for Best First Book of Fiction

Finding Home by Dominic Sheehan (Secker & Warburg, 19996, 1996)

The NZSA Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry

Before the Divorce We Go To Disneyland by Diane Brown (Tandem Press, 1997)

The NZSA E. H. McCormick Award for Best First Book of Non-Fiction

The Story of Suzanne Aubert by Jessie Munro (Auckland University Press & Bridget Williams Books, 1997)