Katy Turner won the 2024 Romantic Novelists' Association's Joan Hessayon Award for New Writers for The Wedding Hitch. The prize is for authors whose manuscripts have gone through the RNA's New Writers' Scheme and are subsequently accepted for publication.
The judges were unanimous in their decision. Jean Fullerton described the winning book as "a romantic tale, skilfully told, with a clever twist at the end I certainly didn’t see coming," while Sue Moorcroft noted that "the plot keeps moving, the characterization's spot on and I love the grand-house setting that contrasts with the staff accommodation in the woods."
Megan Haslam praised The Wedding Hitch as "the perfect blend of uplifting romance, relatable characters and a beautiful setting. Claire has added her own unique twist to the jilted bride trope and writes with such warmth and wit that she keeps you turning the page, rooting for her heroine until the very end."