Article in Florida Rambler wins Florida Outdoor Writers award

Last updated on September 9th, 2021 at 08:50 am

An article published in Florida Rambler won first place for best blog post in the Florida Outdoor Writers annual competition.

“Letter from the Keys: Week 6 of quarantine,” by Karuna Eberl, was published April 21, 2020, when the Keys had blocked all visitors from outside and the world was still absorbing what this pandemic meant for us. The article also won second place in the category for Magazine Short Feature.

Eberl was living on Cudjoe Key with her husband Steve when the pandemic hit. Her article describes how the lack of tourists made life difficult for businesses, but gave nature a much-needed break.

Eberl has written several stories for Florida Rambler. She now lives in Colorado.

In addition to the story written for Florida Rambler, Eberl won a second place in the Feature Article category for a story on the Dry Tortugas, “Call of Duty,” published in National Parks Magazine.

Other winners were:

Conservation Story
First Place: Steve Wayne – FWC Port Investigations – Chief of Police Magazine
Second Place: Diane Bedard – Saving Crystal River an article in NatureCoaster.com
Third Place: Ralph Allen – Things You Thought You Knew – Waterline Weekly

Digital Platform
First Place: Sandra Friend and John Keatley – FloridaHikes.com
Second Place: Jimmy Jacobs – On the Fly South
Third Place: Lucy Tobias – Saturday Morning Magazine

Family Participation in the Outdoors
First Place: Sally White – Levy County’s Best Kept Secret: the Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve, an article in NatureCoaster.com
Second Place: Cefus McRae – Giving Thanks, an article in Angler Magazine
Third Place: Sally White – Hiking the Blue Run Historic Railway Trail in NatureCoaster.com

Feature Article, 1,200 Words or Longer
First Place: Doug Stamm – A Lake Erie Kinda Day – BoatUS Magazine
Second Place: Karuna Eberl – Call of Duty, National Parks Magazine
Third Place: Jimmy Jacobs – Study the Shifts for Specks Game & Fish Magazine

Article or Column, Fewer than 1,200 Words
First Place: Ralph Allen: Things You Thought You Knew – Waterline Weekly
Second Place: Karuna Eberl: Letter from the Keys: Week 6 of quarantine – Florida Rambler
Third Place: Steve Wayne: Find Your Secret Fishing Spot – LureNet

Outdoor Travel & Destination Story
First Place: Sally White – Dunnellons Rainbow Springs Then and Now, an article in NatureCoaster.com
Second Place: Jennifer Huber – Historic Cortez Village full of Florida maritime culture – Charlotte Sun
Third Place: Paul Presson – Discovering Anclotes Hidden Treasure, an article in NatureCoaster.com

Outdoor Book
First Place: Lucy Tobias – The Zen of Florida Gardening
Second Place: Sandra Friend and John Keatley – Discovering the Florida Trail

Photojournalism/Photography
First Place: Cefus McRae – Sails of Crocodile Bay – Nuts & Bolts of Fishing TV
Second Place: Doug Stamm – Lake Erie Walleye – BoatUS Magazine
Third Place: Jimmy Jacobs – Lady on the Beach – On The Fly South

Online Blog Post
First Place: Karuna Eberl: Letter from the Keys: Week 6 of quarantine – Florida Rambler
Second Place: Diane Bedard – Bringing the Butterflies Back to Dade City an article in NatureCoaster.com
Third Place: Jennifer Huber – Where Adventure Dogs are Made – Solo Travel Girl

TV/Video/Webcast
First Place: Jay Withers – Silver Dusk, an episode of Guidelines TV
Second Place: Cefus McRae – Sails of Crocodile Bay, an episode of Nuts & Bolts of Fishing TV
Third Place: Cefus McRae – King Mackerel Mayhem, an episode of Nuts & Bolts of Fishing TV