Writing Projects
Undaunted Ursula Franklin: Activist, Educator, Scientist
By Monica Franklin & Erin Della Mattia
Middle grade nonfiction, Second Story Press, 2024
“Peace is not the absence of war, peace is the absence of fear,” said Ursula Franklin
Undaunted Ursula Franklin tells the life story of the scientist and feminist Ursula Franklin, with insights that could only be shared by someone who knew her well—her daughter. In the face of Nazi soldiers, chauvinistic colleagues, and RCMP spies, Ursula persevered in doing what she thought was right and standing up for those harmed by war and discrimination. Ursula defied the odds as a Holocaust survivor and refugee in Canada, becoming a role model and mentor for girls and young women in STEM.
Praise and Media
“Monica and I focused on doing justice not just to Ursula’s life but to the ideas that fuelled her feminist activism and scientific work. Sharing her ideas with young people was one of the main things that motivated me through the writing and revising processes.”
“As told lovingly by her daughter Monica Franklin, Undaunted Ursula Franklin chronicles the life of Holocaust survivor, physicist and engineer, educator, and champion of equality, peace, and the vulnerable, Ursula Franklin. An extraordinary woman who exemplifies courage in the face of unimaginable hardship."
“Undaunted Ursula Franklin: Activist, Educator, Scientist was written by Ursula Franklin’s daughter, Monica Franklin, and it’s clear her daughter admires her mother, and so will readers when they learn about the obstacles overcome and triumphs celebrated by Ursula Franklin….Ursula’s story, from challenging and initiating change in her sexist workplace, winning pay equity for women engineers to come, all while raising a family, will inspire readers of all genders to never give up on their dreams." Highly Recommended, 4 stars
“There Are Wolves in these Woods” in Sharper Than Thorns: An Anthology
Edited by Anne J. Hill & Beka Gremikova
Adult fantasy collection, Twenty Hills Publishing, 2022
“How much different is a little girl from a fox?”
In the dead of winter, a woodsman travels deep into the forest, desperate for any morsel of food. His family, the entire village, is on the brink of starvation. When he comes across a girl searching for her grandmother’s cottage, the woodsman begins to sense a way out of his dilemma—if he can stomach it. In this retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” yes, there are wolves in the woods. But there is also something much worse.
When it comes to fairytales, beware what you think you know. For the truth can be sharper than thorns…and even stories full of roses can make you bleed.
Praise for “There Are Wolves in these Woods”
“Deliciously creepy.”
- Cassandra Hamm, author
“Beautifully written, perfectly crafted eerie setting, great psychological characterisation, excellent storytelling…but so painful! I blame Anne Applebaum for all my starvation-related nightmares, but I ain't complainin' if I get new ones from Della Mattia's story, as much as happy endings are the best endings, sometimes the greatest stories are the tragic ones…[This story] filled me with such ache that's still not gone away as I write my review.”
- Marquise, Goodreads reviewer
Book Reviews
Review of I Will Get Up Off Of by Simina Banu in Room Magazine, Dec 12, 2024.
Review of The Quiet Is Loud by Samantha Garner in Prairie Fire, November 28, 2022.
Review of The Music Game by Stéfanie Clermont in Prairie Fire, September 27, 2022.
Review of The Pump by Sydney Hegele in Prairie Fire, July 21, 2022.
Review of Nowadays and Lonelier by Carmella Gray-Cosgrove in Prairie Fire, December 13, 2021.
Review of Annette Lapointe’s You Are Not Needed Now in Prairie Fire, March 7, 2018.
Review of Camilla Grudova’s The Doll’s Alphabet, in Prairie Fire, February 20, 2018.
