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Martha Dunsky a Speaker at Sinclair Community College’s Writers’ Workshop on April 14, 2022

Martha is one of four authors participating in the 48th Writers’ Workshop sponsored by Sinclair Community College. The day-long event is from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  on Thursday, April 14. Martha will give a live Zoom presentation on “Adapting an Historical Event for Children” and will answer questions afterward. Her talk is scheduled for 11:00 am – 12:15 pm.

The event is free to students and the general public. To register and for more information go to https://www.sinclair.edu/academics/divisions/lcs/eng/writers-workshop/

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August Book Signing at Sherman House Museum in Lancaster, OH

Sherman House Museum, Lancaster, OH

Ohio author Martha Dunsky will bring her new children’s book about General William T. Sherman to his birthplace. On Saturday, August 17, 1:00 – 4:00 PM, Dunsky will sign copies of “Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman” at the
Sherman House Museum in  Lancaster, Ohio.

Dunsky’s illustrated middle-grade book tells the exciting true story of young girls at a convent school in Columbia, SC, when General Sherman and the Union Army enter the city in February 1865. Although Sherman promises their safety, the nuns and girls must flee that night into the burning city. Based on first-person accounts of true events, “Fire and Forgiveness” teaches important lessons in forgiveness and peacemaking.

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Join Martha Dunsky and Monica Wyrick at Ohioana Book Festival April 27


Join author Martha Dunsky and illustrator Monica Wyrick on Saturday, April 27, 10:30 am – 5:00 pm at the
Ohioana Book Festival. This year the event will be held at
Columbus Metropolitan Library‘s Main Library on 96 S. Grant Ave. , in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

Meet Martha and Monica and have them autograph your copy of their new book, Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman. Martha will also be one of the authors on the Middle Grade Fiction discussion panel. Ask her how she turned a Civil War event into an historical fiction for children.

The event showcases Ohio authors and will have books for readers of every age, discussion panels on creative writing, and activities for kids. And it’s FREE! Find out more at Ohioana Book Festival.

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“Fire and Forgiveness” Chosen for Together We Can Read Program in Columbia, SC

Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman is the 2019 City of Columbia and Richland County School District One “Together We Can Read” selection! All 2,000 third-graders in that school district received a copy of the book to take home to help build their personal libraries. And on March 26, more than 100 guest readers took time out of their busy schedules to read the book to Richland One third-grade students as part of the 11th annual Together We Can Read literacy initiative. Video and photos below courtesy Richland County School District One, Richland PTO and the City of Columbia. And click here to see a great second video from Richland One’s FaceBook page!

At Satchel Ford Elementary
City of Columbia Councilman reads to students
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Beautiful Thank You Letters from 2nd Graders

Thank you letters from St. Peter’s School 2nd graders

These beautiful thank you letters from 2nd graders at St. Peter’s School in Columbia, SC, made my visit worthwhile. During my author’s visit with illustrator Monica Wyrick, I read from our new book FIRE AND FORGIVENESS. Then students put roses on the grave of Mother Baptista, who protected her students during the Civil War burning of Columbia. We also discussed how to be a peacemaker.

See more of the letters on my “School Visits” page.

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Students Pay Homage to Heroic Nun

Headstone of Mother Baptista Lynch in St. Peter’s Cemetery, Columbia, SC

On February 21, students from St. Peter’s Catholic School in Columbia, SC, laid flowers at the headstone of Mother Baptista Lynch in St. Peter’s Cemetery adjacent to the school.

The Mother Superior of an Ursuline Convent School protected 200 young girls who were forced to flee the boarding school during the Civil War burning of Columbia. Mother Baptista and her students hid in St. Peter’s Cemetery overnight. The next morning, she saved the Hampton-Preston from being burned by the Union Army.

Mother Baptista’s story is told in a new children’s book Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman. The author, Martha Dunsky, read portions of the book to 1st through 6th graders inside St. Peter’s Church, before they laid flowers at the nun’s headstone.

At a presentation inside the school, Dunsky and the students discussed how to be a peacemaker, which is the book’s message.  Joining Dunsky was Monica Wyrick, the book’s illustrator and art teacher at St. Peter’s School. 

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Two Book Signings Saturday, Feb. 23 at Mast General and SC State Museum in Columbia, SC

Martha Dunsky and Monica Wyrick will autograph copies of Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman on Saturday, February 23 in downtown Columbia, SC. Join the author and illustrator of the new children’s book about the burning of Columbia from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm at Mast General Store on 1601 Main St ; and from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm at the South Carolina State Museum on 301 Gervais St .

Pick up your copy of this thrilling account of the brave young girls forced to flee the Ursuline Convent School during the Civil War burning of Columbia. Discover the surprising true story of Mother Baptista Lynch’s encounter with General William T. Sherman. Learn lessons of peacemaking for all ages.

Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman is published February 19, 2019 by the University of South Carolina Press.

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Author to Read New Book about Burning of Columbia to Students at Cemetery where School Girls Hid That Night

On Thursday, February 21, students at St. Peter’s School in Columbia, SC, will gather at St. Peter’s Cemetery as they learn about the young girls who hid there overnight during the Civil War burning of their city.

Martha Dunsky will read to 1st through 6th graders from her new children’s book Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman. The thrilling story is based on first-person accounts of what happened to the young girls at the Ursuline Convent School when forced to flee through the burning city of Columbia in February, 1865, and hide overnight in the cemetery.

At the end of the reading, students will leave flowers at the grave of Mother Baptista Lynch, the convent school’s Mother Superior (and key figure in the story) who protected her students during and after the ordeal.

Dunsky’s presentation inside the school will  include a discussion on how to be a peacemaker (the book’s message).  Joining her will be Monica Wyrick, the book’s illustrator and art teacher at St. Peter’s School. 

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February 19, 2019 Publication Date for “Fire and Forgiveness”

Lessons on Forgiveness and Peacemaking for All Ages

On February 19, 2019 the University of South Carolina Press releases Fire and Forgiveness: A Nun’s Truce with General Sherman by Martha Dunsky with illustrations by Monica Wyrick.

Making peace with her spiteful classmate Clara seems impossible to Jane. Despite encouragement from Mother Baptista, the mother superior at their convent school, Jane and Clara dig in their heels. As the girls brood they hear the cannons of the Civil War explode outside their school as General Sherman and the Union army attack the city of Columbia, South Carolina, in February 1865.

Mother Baptista asks Sherman for protection for her nuns and students, and he promises they will be safe inside their convent school. But despite his promise they have to flee in the middle of the night through a chaotic, burning city. Will Mother Baptista forgive Sherman for breaking his promise? Can Jane and Clara make peace when the adults in their world are at odds and at war?

Set during the most deadly and divisive war in U.S. history, this compelling story is based on first-person accounts of true events. Fire and Forgiveness is a reminder of the important role forgiveness and peacemaking play in life’s conflicts big and small, whether between quarreling children, proud adults, or warring nations.

Advance Praise for Fire and Forgiveness

“…a thoughtful, beautifully illustrated work that emphasizes stories of kindness and mercy during a time of war. The intimate tale reminds us how human goodness can triumph over violence and fear.”—Martha Moody, author of Washington Post bestseller Best Friends

“As the Civil War moves closer to Columbia, two girls in a convent school carry on their own battle. It’s exciting to see another “forgotten” Civil War story brought vividly to life for today’s readers.”—Kathy Cannon Wiechman, winner of the 2015 Grateful American Book Prize for Like a River: A Civil War Novel

Martha Dunsky, a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, is a former award-winning television reporter/videographer and producer and a retired technical editor for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center. Monica Wyrick has a fine arts degree from the University of Dayton and has worked in advertising, as a muralist, and as an art instructor. She is the illustrator of Crabbing, Dreaming with Animals, The H. L. Hunley Submarine, and Art Smart, Science Detective, all published by the University of South Carolina Press.

Available from booksellers everywhere and from SC Press at www.uscpress.com.