NEW YORK _ The compelling tale of the strange, sublime and sometimes dangerous goings-on at a medical marijuana farm is the grand prize winner of the 2012 New York Book Festival.

“Pot Farm” by Matthew Gavin Frank (University of Nebraska Press) details life at Weckerman Farm, populated by recovering drug addicts, alternative healers, and medical marijuana users looking to give back. Like a hipster Studs Terkel, Frank explores the way this business works, bringing a rich narrative to his study of a thriving part of contemporary culture.

The judges were won over by Frank’s keen eye for detail and the engaging cast of characters he brings to life in his work. He will be honored in a private awards ceremony on Friday, June 22 at the Grolier Club in New York City.

Other winners in the competition:

TEENAGE

WINNER: Freek Show – Steve Burt

RUNNER-UP: Girl Unmoored – Jennifer Hummer Gooch

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• So What Do You Think? – Clair Swinburne
• The Grief Recovery Kit – Tanya Kilgore
• Letters from the Ledge – Lynda Meyers
• Intensity – The 10th Anniversary Anthology from WriteGirl – edited by Keren Taylor
• What’s Wrong with Me? – Daree Allen
• The Island of Lote – Emily Kinney
• Mr Yahooty – Robert Sandford
• The Fifth Kraut – Jeff Kohmstedt
• The Return of Nicolas Heldring – Kimberly J. Rosengrant
• Lucy and CeCee’s How To Survive (and Thrive) in Middle School – Kimberly Dana
• True Brit – Beatrice 1940 – Rosemary Zibart/illustrated by George Lawrence

GENERAL FICTION

WINNER: Patchwork of Me – Gregory G. Allen

RUNNER-UP: Inside the Outside – Martin Lastrapes

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• No Alternative – William Dickerson
• The Length of the Leash – Gary D. Sproul
• Eyes of God – Philip Babcock
• Dancing Naked with the Devil – Bernard Mendillo
• The Death of Carthage – Robin Levin
• Sweetgrass – Patricia Ann Kuess
• The Fate of Pryde – Mary E. Martin
• Blood Life – Gianna Perada
• The Sausage Maker’s Daughter – AGS Johnson
• View from the Edge – Michael Kasenow
• Open Source – M.M. Frick
• Byron – Robert M. Tucker
• Back to Grace – A.M. Monzione
• The Hometown – Leena Ceraveeni
• The Ropewalk – John Knauf
• City of Slaughter – Cynthia Drew
• Lingering Tide and Other Stories – Latha Viswanathan
• Talons – W.G. Griffiths
• Haven: The Fate of the Four Races – Andrew Brown
• The Concubine Saga – Lloyd Lofthouse
• Lightning’s Child – Michael A. Smith
• Empty Arms – Erika Liodice
• Camille Claudel: A Novel – Alma Bond
• Boy of Bone – K.R. Sands/illustrations by Jon Lezinsky
• Flashblind – Paul Bernstein
• Desperate Hours – Thomas G. Kane
• From Tikal to Las Vegas – Gilberto Erick Watts Guadiana
• The Red Album of Asbury Park – Alex Austin
• One Great Year – Tamara Veitch & Rene DeFazio
• I, Putin – Jennifer Ciotta
• A Terrible Blessing – Maggie Montague
• A Song Apart – Jeffrey H. Baer
• Anvil of Moonlight – William Weyr

GENERAL NON-FICTION

WINNER: Pot Farm – Matthew Gavin Frank

RUNNER-UP: A Road More or Less Traveled – Stephen Otis and Colin Roberts

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Sleep is for the Weak – edited by Rita Arens
• Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City – Carla L. Peterson
• The Very Hungry City – Austin Troy
• The Digitally Divided Self – Ivo Quartiroli
• Big Wave Surfing – Kenneth Thurber
• The ABC of Sales – Daniel Milstein
• Blood & Money – P. Mark Accettura
• Safari Jema – Teresa O’Kane
• Miracles in the Mountains – J.C. Rasoul
• Qualified: Candidate Resumes and the Threshold for Presidential Success – Jamin Soderstrom
• Choices Lemons or Chocolate – Susan Flam
• Tolstoy in Riyadh – Chris Cryer
• Winchell and Runyon – Trustin Howard
• Erotic Marriage – Dr. Frederick D. Mondin
• Among Murderers and Madness – Sonny Long
• On Sale – Tracy L. Kinne
• The Smart Guide to Geothermal – Donal Blaise Lloyd
• By His Own Blood – John Montandon
• Setting the Hook – Peter M. Hunt
• The Black Prince – Robby Robinson
• Not All Out of Love – Jamie Schoffman
• As The Dust Settles – Susan C. Fox
• The Take-Charge Patient – Martine Ehrenclou
• Rules Get Broken – John Herbert
• Getting Hired – Frances R. Schmidt
• Imperfect Weddings are Best – Dr. Sherry L. Meinberg
• This Girl Walks Into a Bar – Jordan Catapano
• 50 Claves del Exito – Daniel Rutois
• Mirror, Mirror – Stephanie Hart
• 50 Strategies to Sustain Recovery from Bulimia – Jocelyn Golden
• An Unbroken Bond - Edie Lutnick

HISTORY

WINNER: The Iron Way: Railroads, The Civil War, and the Making of Modern America – William G. Thomas

RUNNER-UP: Creek with No Name – Ken Bilderback with Kris Bilderback

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Explorers of the Nile – Tim Jeal
• The Burma Campaign – Frank McLynn
• In the Ould Ago – Johnny McKeagney

PHOTOGRAPHY/ART

WINNER: Infinite Jest: Caricature and Satire from Leonardo to Levine – Constance C. McPhee and Nadine M. Orenstein

RUNNER-UP: Salt & Truth – Shelby Lee Adams

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Rooms with a View – Sabine Rewald
• Put the Needle on the Record – Matthew Chojnacki
• Abstract Painting: A Practical Approach – Hennie Reimer
• Steam Locomotives Forever – Kiichiro “Duke” Yamagishi
• Living Shells – Dr. Charles E. Rawlings
• The Pictures Generation 1974-1984 – Douglas Eklund

POETRY

WINNER: Nigger for Life – Neal Hall

RUNNER-UP Love Cake – Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Cinematic Mind: The Eternal Search – Kimo Hill
• The Poetry of Kabbalah – Peter Cole
• Conversations – Carlyne A. Turner
• All These Houses Next to Mine – Jeremy Long
• Selected Potems of Cesar Antonio Molina – Translated by Franciso Macias Valdes
• Beyond the Long Good-byes – Mark Merlin Estep
• Inside Out: Stories and Poems from an Autistic Mind – Russell Lehmann
• Walkabout – Diane Sherman
• Rites of Passage – Mark Magro

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

WINNER: 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports – Kostya Kennedy

RUNNER-UP: Marilyn at Rainbow’s End – Darwin Porter

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Edward Bancroft: Scientist, Author, Spy – Thomas J. Schaeper
• The Modern Voice of an Irish Immigrant – Imelda Cummins-DeMelkon
• Zora Neale Hurston’s Final Decade Virginia Lynn Moylan
• Our Father Who Aren’t in Heaven – Frye & Mercier
• Oh Brother! – Cliff Fazzolari
• What About the Boy? - Stephen Gallup
• On Making Off – Randy Anderson
• Burn Down the Ground – Kambri Crews
• Flower of God – Herbert Ausubel
• History of a Pipe Dream – Susan Miller
• Folsom Street Blues – Jim Stewart
• Unfaithfully Yours: Confessions of a Cheating Bitch – Chrystal Rose
• Rogers Burnham: The Original Man Behind Bill W. – Leslie B. Cole
• The Oxygen Mask Rule – Martha L. Thompson
• Today is a Good Day for Marshmallows - Kristi Hellenbrand
• How To Be Unsuccessful – John Feldman
• No, N-O-E, No: The Cicero Riot Story – H.M. Edwards
• Life Happens. Live It! – Jake French

WILD CARD

WINNER: Pairs – D.W. Richards

RUNNER-UP: Securing the C Level – Michael D. Peters

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Breaking Grand Silence – Marvin Josaitis
• Art for the People – Michael K. Corbin
• Ship for Brains – Brian David Bruns
• Surviving Cancer After Surviving Cancer – Kevin L. Murphy
• L’altra Penelope – Brigidina Gentile
• Educating America – Paddy Eger
• Letters from Across the Big Divide – Richard B. Baker
• Opening Lines: The 2011 Girls Write Now Anthology
• Empower Yourself for an Amazing Career – Blanca De La Rosa
• Journey from Survivor to Overcomer: The L.O.V.E. Model – Dr. Latrice Love

HOW-TO WINNER: Life is a Choice – Dr. David Washington

RUNNER-UP: Attitude Reconstruction – Jude Bijou

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The 4-1-1 on Life Skills – Michele Sfakianos
• How to Talk Your Talk – Web Burrell
• Lemons, Lemonade & Life – Janet D. Thomas
• Helping Children to be Successful Readers – Jennifer Parker
• 50 Strategies to Sustain Recovery from Bulimia – Jocelyn Golden
• Shuffleboard, Why Not? – John Mataya

CHILDREN’S

WINNER: The Blue Lobster – Robin Taylor-Chiarello/illustrated by Lisa Bohart

RUNNER-UP: Quickly’s Magical Pancake Adventure – Miriam Kronish and Jeryl Abelmann/illustrated by Chason Matthams

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Silly the Seed – Scott Sussman
• The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont – Victoria Griffith/illustrations by Eva Montanari
• Mama’s Bag – Anat Tour
• Curio A Shetland Sheepdog and her Pals – Jeannette Griver and Phyllis L. Milway
• The Magic Spoon – Richard DeFabio
• The Adventures of Abigale Green – Elaine Green/illustrated by Brad Alston
• The Taste of Snow – Stephen V. Masse
• Will You Fill My Bucket? – Carol McCloud and Karen Wells/illustrated by Penny Weber
• Emmy Budd and the Gypsies – Jean Blasiar
• History’s A Mystery Again – Dell Brand
• Lulu the Big Little Chick – Paulette Bogan
• Alphabet de la vie pour les Grands et Petits – Aida Ramdani
• Read to Your Pets – Cynthia Coral Phillips/illustrated by Stephanie Phillips & Micahel Castiglione
• Dear Sun – Lauren M. Lombardo
• To Dream the Impossible – Robert Jae Skye
• Ashraf the Flying Saucer – Fatima Akilu
• Teddy Visits the Dentist – Elizabeth Mahadeo/illustrated by Alexandra Barth
• The Bamboo Dance – Cress Sia/illustrated by Lisa Butler
• D is for Dragon Fruit – Monique Duncan
• Sela – Moonie Garcia
• Prince Rama: Son of the Solar Dynasty – Vrinda Sheth/illustrated by Anna Johansson
• The Misfits and the Magical Pond – Tina Orr
• Down on the Farm – Merrily Kutner/illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
• The Adventures of Little Boy Brown – Lexie Lucas/illustrated by Eris Gentle
• Pink Hamster and the Big Birthday Surprise – Eileen Wacker/illustrated by Alan M. Low
• The Worry Tree – Marianne Musgrove
• How Bunnies Got Their Cottontails – Barbara Prignano/illustrated by Jennifer K. Okubo
• Fabrizio’s Fable - Patricia Brady Danzig/illustrated by Grace Min

SCIENCE FICTION

WINNER: The Death of Eve – Shaun Penney

RUNNER-UP: Dome Child – Regina Glei

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Light in the Shadows – Nancy E. Dutt/Francis S. Gaal
• The Augustine Agenda – William L. Lavell
• Sequence – Kenneth Rogers, Jr.
• The Bane of Yoto – Joshua Viola with Nicholas Karpuk
• Sentry’s Past: Veil of Darkness – A.M. Boyle
• The Last Guardian – Michelle Wachbrit
• The Sylvan Horn – Robert Redinger
• The Immune – Dock Lucky Meisenheimer
• Sun of Apollo - Darab Lawyer and Clinton Libbey
• Huahuqui – Gareth Worthington
• Was a Time When – Sam Penny

COOKBOOKS

WINNER: The Looneyspoons Collection – Janet & Greta Podleski

RUNNER-UP: Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat – Melissa Joulwan/photographs by David Humphreys

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Healthy French Cuisine for Less than $10/Day – Chef Alain Braux
• Pavilion on a Plate: Fresh Flavours From Guernsey – Tony Leck
• Armenian Cuisine Aline Kamakian and Barbara Drieskens

SPIRITUAL

WINNER: The Genesis Code: God Has Spoken – Abraham Lopian/Julie A. Snyder

RUNNER-UP: Becoming: A Spiritual Journey – Rev. Dr. Pamela Feeser

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Redemption Road Salvation Street – Carlyne A. Turner/illustrations by Hilbert Bermejo
• The 32 Keys: Awakening to Soul – Gayle Swift
• The Spirit Sherpa – Marc Littman
• Gentle Hands Gentle People – Loretta Aileen Carlson Warren
• No Boxing Allowed – Nola Anne Hennessy
• Love & Impasse – Denise Richard
• Christmas Lights – Christine Pisera Naman
• I Didn’t Come Here to Lose – Vicky Kress
• Escaping the Jaws of Life – Lori Godsey Anzini
• Soul Centered – Sarah McLean

E-BOOKS

WINNER: Life Expectancy – William Keiper

RUNNER-UP: Maria’s Duck Tales – Maria Daddino

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Whole Truth – Sydney B. Self
• Love & Darts – Nath Jones
• Crossed Lives – Ron Duffy
• Plunge – Mari Anderson and Fritz Damler
• My Big Dead Rabbit – Suzanne DiTomasso
• Cheerage Fearage – Kimberly Dana
• Rachel, The Little Lady Who Could – Rachel and Mario Rabinowitz
• Rising Sunsets – D.H. Cermeno
• Methuselah’s Pillar – W.G. Griffiths

ROMANCE

WINNER: The Battered Heiress Blues - Laurie Van Dermark

RUNNER-UP: Glimmers – Barbara Brooke

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Inn at Little Bend – Bobbi Groover
• Provenance – Carol Smilgin
• The Jesuit Papers – A.B. Fowler

UNPUBLISHED

WINNER: The Obvious Game – Rita Arens

RUNNER-UP: One Little Indian Boy – K. Patrick Malone

HONORABLE MENTION: Dolphin Boy and Other Stories – Elizabeth Zinn

COMICS

WINNER: Gesso Squad: The Graphic Novel Vol. 1 – V.J. Brockett