Another Win For Karla!
24/10/23
Despite being a published writer in the leisure industry for a number of years now and winning a previous award for my writing, the Imposter Syndrome is still alive and kicking. So you can imagine my shock and delight when I was announced as a winner again at the recent Caravan Writers’ Guild awards dinner!
Annual Guild Dinner
On Wednesday the 18th of October, Stephen and I got all glammed up for the annual Caravan Writers’ Guild dinner. This year it was held at The Lake At Barston Restaurant — A stunning lakeside venue conveniently close to the Birmingham NEC, which is where the entire industry gathers during the week of the Motorhome and Caravan Show.
After conversing with industry leaders and fellow journalists over an impressive 3-course meal, our attention turned to the stage for the highly anticipated awards announcement.
The Awards
Each year, the Guild presents awards in two categories — The John Wickersham Award for Videography and the Douglas King Award for Written Journalism. Each one named in honour of a late journalist who made a great contribution to the leisure industry with their work. They both come with a cut glass trophy, a monetary prize and a hell of a lot of kudos!
Firstly, I’d like to say a huge congratulations to Steve Radford (Roaming Radfords) for winning the John Wickersham Award. His videos are always interesting and produced to a high-quality, so it was well deserved indeed.
Douglas King Award
After the announcement of the Videography Award, it was time to find out who had won the Written Journalism Award. I wasn’t feeling overly confident about my entry, so when I was named as a finalist I was shocked… Then upon hearing that I’d WON, my jaw quite literally dropped! Those of you who know my introverted ways will understand the combination of emotions I had in that moment. I had everyone’s eyes on me, so I wanted the ground to swallow me whole, yet I had an immense amount of pride running through me too.
When I began sharing our travels with the world I never could have anticipated even getting published in magazines, so to have received this recognition for my work not once, but twice, is just mind blowing!
Eternally Grateful
Thank you so much to the Guild for putting together these awards and sponsoring them alongside Howden, the judges for their kind feedback, and The Caravan and Motorhome Club for publishing my winning article “Licence To Chill” in their magazine.