Nearly 2,000 people turned out Saturday for the second annual Kansas Book Festival at the Kansas State Historical Society building in Topeka.

More than 30 authors, including Candice Millard, Matthew Polly and Brad Sneed, participated in the event and had a chance to present their work to the crowd.

During the event, Kansas’ first lady Mary Brownback and the Kansas State Library recognized the 2012 Kansas Notable Books and presented awards to their authors. The Kansas Notable Book Award honors books either written by Kansans or that have a Kansas connection.

The 2012 Kansas Notable Book Award Winners are:

• “8 Wonders of Kansas! Guidebook” by Marci Penner

• “The Afterlives of Trees” by Wyatt Townley

• “Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart” by Candace Fleming

• “Bent Road: A Novel” by Lori Roy

• “Destiny of the Republic” by Candice Millard

• “Doc: A Novel” by Mary Doria Russell

• “The Door in the Forest” by Roderick Townley

• “Liar’s Moon” by Elizabeth Bunce

• “My Ruby Slippers: The Road Back to Kansas” by Tracy Seele

• “The Northern Cheyenne Exodus in History and Memory” by Ramon Powers and James Leiker

• “Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure” by Kelly Enright

• “Prairie Fire: A Great Plains History” by Julie Courtwright

• “rode” by Thomas Fox Averill

• “Send Me Work: Stories” by Katherine Karlin

• “Tapped Out: Rear Naked Chokes, the Octagon, and the Last Emperor: An Odyssey in Mixed Martial Arts” by Matthew Polly