Trails of Tales book publishing project

This creative publishing project brings together two internationally acclaimed professional artists, an award winning
author, and a university committed to inclusive literacy, working alongside children
from schools across Scotland to publish a new picture book that centers on authentic representation of
culture and identity. Led by Richard O’Neill MBE and in partnership with STEP, Michelle Russell, and
Shamus McPhee, this Trails of Tales publishing project is built around an original picture book story written
by Richard O’Neill (MBE) My Friend Lives in a Spaceship. Rooted in lived Traveller experience and told
through the imaginative lens of childhood friendship, the story explores movement, belonging, and the power
of seeing the world differently. The national project invites a group of core schools, and many more following
the journey online, to step inside the real publishing process, from manuscript to finished book