91吃瓜网

• Biography/ Background

   Biography

  Dylan is a Kokatha (Googatha) Aboriginal/Greek woman from the far west coast of South Australia. She is an academic who has worked in the Yaitya Purruna Indigenous Health Unit, College of Health,  91吃瓜网 (previously Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide) for over 15 years and teaches across Medicine, Dentistry, Allied Health, Psychology and Public Health. She is a multi-award winning writer, film-maker and educator. 

  In 2011, Dylan completed her doctorate at the University of Adelaide's English Department, and in the same year the creative component of her PhD work, ‘Mazin Grace’ (written in Kokatha and Aboriginal-English), won the Queensland Premiers Literary Awards,  David Unaipon Award for Indigneous unpublished manuscripts; in 2012 it was published; in 2013,  it was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and longlisted for the Stella Prize; in 2024 it was selected for the First Nations Classic Series in Australia; and in 2025 the audio version of her book was released by Bolinda Publishing.

  Throughout Australia and globally, Dylan has engaged with various First Nation communities with a focus on shared: Indigenous Knowledge Systems (country, culture, spirituality, health, wellbeing and healing and environmental protection) and; social justice and land rights. She has worked with communities on building capacity through community controlled approaches to health  with a focus on Aboriginal governance in collaborative and co-ordinated service delivery and decolonising structural barriers. Dylan is also passionate about working with family and community in protecting Country, Aboriginal Sovereignty, community pathways to self-government and Treaty rights. 

   

   

• Qualifications

  Qualifications

  1991  BA (AAA): University of South Australia and Northern Arizona University, USA.

  2011  MA (CW): University of Adelaide, South Australia.

  2011  PhD (CW): University of Adelaide, South Australia.

  2012  Grad. Cert.in Higher Education: University of Adelaide, South Australia.

   

   

   

• Awards & Achievements

  
  

  • FlickerFest 35th Film Festival, Official Selection, First Nation Spotlight Shorts: Short Film Catchin' Mumoo, Producer/Director, 2026. (Film adaption drawn from chapters in Masters work).
  • Peninsula Film Festival: Winner Best Cinematograper: Allan Collins ACS, Short Film: Catchin' Mumoo, Producer/Director, 2026. (Film adaption drawn from chapters in Masters work).
  • Executive Dean’s Team Prize: Yaitya Purruna Indigneous Health Unit, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide 2025. 
  • South Australia Screen Awards, Nomination: Best First Nations Short Film: Catchin' Mumoo, Producer/Director, 2025. (Film adaption drawn from chapters in Masters work).
  • Adelaide Film Festival, Official Selection, Short Film: Catchin' Mumoo, 2025. Producer/Director (Film adaption drawn from chapters in Masters work).
  • Audiobook published by Bolinda Publishing: novel Mazin' Grace, read by Dylan Coleman, 2025. (Creative Component of PhD work).
  • Australian Cinematographers Society (Northern Territory) Gold Award: Short Film, 2020, Jija Mooga Gu Secret Pretty Things (short drama), Cinematographer: Allan Collins ACS, 2020. (Film adaption drawn from chapter titled 'Secret Pretty Things' in the Creative Component of PhD work).
  • Adelaide Film Festival, Official Selection, short film:  Jija Mooga Gu Secret Pretty Things, 2020. (Short film adaption drawn from chapter titled 'Secret Pretty Things' in the Creative Component of PhD work).
  • Stellar Short Film Festival: selection of Spin Out (short drama),  2019.
  • Black Shorts touring film festival (country and metro South Australia) selection for screening of Spin Out (short drama) 2018.
  • Fleurieu Film Festival. Spin Out (short drama): Winner: Best Short Film/Best Director: Staurme Glastonbury & Dylan Coleman; Winner: Best Actor: Mark Coles-Smith, 2018. 
  • South Australian Screen Awards. Spin Out (short drama): Winner: Best Performance Mark Coles-Smith, 2017.
  • NITV broadcast, Our Stories Series, The Brodie Family (short documentry), Co-writer/Director, 2016.
  • Black & Write Writing Fellowship, for novel manuscript Clear Water White Death, 2016.
  • Adelaide Film Festival, Official Selection for the 9:16 Program, Earth, Sea, Sky, (short documentry)Co-writer, Director, 2015.
  • NITV broadcast, NAIDOC Week Iniative, Walking with us  (short documentary), Writer/Director, 2015. 
  • Gladys Elphick Award for outstanding contributions to Arts and Culture, July 2014 (SA Indigenous Women's Award).
  • Black & Write Writing Fellowship: Highly Commended for novel manuscript: Clear Water White Death, Storm on the Horizon, 2014.
  • Crossing Country (part of the Yarning Strong children's book series) published by Oxford University Press, 2014.
  • Commonwealth Book Prize, shortlisting of: Mazin Grace, 2013. (novel from Creative Component of PhD work).
  • NITV broadcast, Though the Eyes of Grace (short-documentary), Writer/Director, Regional, Remote and Emerging Film-makers initiative, story of the writing of Mazin Grace with Mercy Glastonbury, 2013. 
  • Stella Prize, longlisting of: Mazin Grace, 2013. (novel from Creative Component of PhD work).
  • Novel Mazin Grace published by University of Qld Press, 2012. (novel from Creative Component of PhD work).
  • Best Teacher: Undergraduate Program Award, School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, University of Adelaide, December, 2011.
  • Arts Queensland David Unaipon Award, Queensland Premier's Literary Awards,  for Mazin Grace, September, 2011.
  • Arts Queensland David Unaipon Award, Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, Shorlisting of: Clear Water White Death, Storm on the Horizon, September 2011.

  Peer Reviews of Mazin Grace (PhD work):

  • 'Heart-wrenching, amusing, tragic and resilient. [Mazin Grace] is compelling, wonderfully well told, and deserves the widest possible audience.' Bookseller + Publisher '4 star review

  • '‘This is a poignant, witty and heart-rending story.’ Geelong Advertiser

  • ‘A story of bravery and loss, growing up and discovering who you are, told with warmth and grit.’ Sydney Morning Herald ‘Pick of the Week’

  • ‘[Mazin Grace] is, quite simply, a charming book: and despite its heart-wrenching moments, it's the novel's endearing qualities – its joyful qualities that prevail.’ Canberra Times

  • ‘I was deeply moved by this book and, by the end of the story, I wanted to give Grace a hug and a big feed!’ Sunday Mail

  • ‘A compelling story that kept me up late and made me shed a tear more than once.’ Sunday Territorian

  • ‘[Dylan Coleman] is a gifted storyteller. Mazin Grace is a heart-rending, provocative and funny' story.’ Koori Mail

  • ‘Startling, moving, funny and accomplished.’ Courier-Mail

  • ‘A deserved winner of the David Unaipon Award … a moving tale [that] balances beautifully the struggle of mission life with the sheer joy of being alive.’ Weekend Australian

  • 'An inspirational read' Oberon Review

  • 'Coleman's story is rich in characters. It is a real tour de force.' M/C Reviews Blog

  • 'An inspiring story told with honesty and humour.' SA Life
    

   

   

• Files

  • Dylan_Coleman_interview_Bookseller_+_Publisher_June-July_2012.pdf [897.0K] (application/pdf)
  • Dylan.Coleman.Mazin_Grace.Review_Bookseller_+_Publisher_4_star_review_June-July_2012.pdf [627.7K] (application/pdf)

Entry last updated: Friday, 13 Feb 2026

To link to this page, please use the following URL:  /directory/dylan.coleman