Tag: high street hero

First Draft Books, based in Bovey Tracey, is one of many thriving independent bookshops that provide a space for Devon’s growing literary scene. It not only serves as a bookshop, it also serves as a community hub for author talks, silent book clubs, and many more exciting events, uniting avid readers and talented writers alike.

Owner Leslie Leggett, a Kentuckian turned Devonian, opened her bookshop in 2023 after a varied career in community work.

A Spotlight On: Laura Horton, Plymouth Laureate of Words When a 23-year-old Laura Horton came across a vintage Christian Dior pencil skirt, black and gold with deep pockets it seemed to be the perfect symbol for who she wanted to become, someone thin, stylish and successful, like the women she saw in Vouge or on Sex and the City. She had been visiting her brother in California when she spotted the store, and in it the skirt bearing a $10 tag– the first designer piece she had ever been able to afford.  When Horton returned to the UK, it sparked what would become an utterly ‘suffocating’ decade-long shopping compulsion. Having moved from Plymouth to London to work she signed up to a notification from every sample sale in the city, organizing her freelance schedule around it.  Laura Horton, now the Plymouth Laureate of Words charts her obsession with fashion in her Fringe First winning show ‘Breatheless’ produced by the Theatre Royal Plymouth and showing this week at the SOHO theatre.  BIPC Devon talks to Laura about her journey toward making a living as a writer, de-mystifying funding, freelancing and more…           Images by Flavia Fraser-Cannon. How ‘Breathless’ began… Laura says; “Breathless (Laura