Indies Little Island and Skein team up for DeBhairduin's 'gorgeous' picture book

Independent Irish publishers Little Island Books and Skein Press are teaming up to publish The Slug and the Snail, a picture book by Irish Traveller author Oein DeBhairduin, illustrated by Olya Anima. 

World rights to the book were acquired directly from the author by Little Island publisher Matthew Parkinson-Bennet and Skein publisher Fionnuala Cloke.

The Slug and the Snail is a fable about difference, acceptance and choosing your own path, inspired by a story told through Irish Traveller oral tradition. It will be published in summer 2023.

"Two slugs travel happily together as brothers, until they meet a crow who shows them that they have no home," the synopsis reads. "Ashamed, one of the slugs decides to make himself a home, and calls himself snail. The brothers grow apart and become suspicious of each other. The slug with no shell-house feels ashamed until he learns to see that the very road he travels is his home, and so he shall never be homeless. The happy slug no longer sees himself through the judging eyes of others, but proudly asserts his place in the world."

"Little Island, Skein Press, and Oein share an independent spirit and a determination to be change-makers in Irish publishing. Irish Traveller culture is greatly under-served by the books world, but Oein has been doing great work to share the rich repository of story he is steeped in," Parkinson-Bennet said. "We’re proud to be part of the team taking a small piece of that culture into the publishing mainstream."

DeBhairduin’s debut Why the Moon Travels (Skein Press) won twice at the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards in 2021, collecting both the Judges’ Special Award and the Éilís Dillon Award for debut authors. 

“I feel utterly blessed to have the opportunity to work with Little Island, Skein Press, and the ingenious artistry of Olya Anima in the crafting of a tale of care, culture and connection," he said. "Stories can bridge spaces we never ever realised were lonesome, forge new understandings, and make friends from strangers. I’m excited to see where this story will travel to and all those it will visit.”

Cloke added: "We are delighted to be teaming up with Oein DeBhairduin and Little Island to publish this gorgeous picture book. The importance of children seeing their culture beautifully and positively represented cannot be underestimated; everyone benefits from inclusion and brilliant stories. Oein’s storytelling will undoubtedly capture all young readers’ imaginations, gently prompting their curiosity and offering new ways of viewing the world, as all good books do."