ONEIDA — Just in time for National Candy Month, a Rome native has released her new anthology, “Main,” celebrating small town America through tales of family-owned businesses including her own.

Dyann Nashton said the story of Turkey Joints, a regional culinary treat that’s captured the notice of foodies worldwide and has been featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition” and travel website AtlasObscura, has been known to help put Central New York on the map.

In her the anthology “Main,” which celebrates small town America through tales of family-owned businesses, the local writer recounts her teenage years working for her great uncle, Tasos Haritatos, as relatives pitched in to produce and package the distinctive bone-shaped candy. Her tale, “Candy is Strong When the Marrow is Sweet,” is described as both an insider’s look at how Turkey Joints are made and a teenager’s coming-of-age story set in Rome.

A former journalist with a bachelor’s degree from Utica College/Syracuse University, Nashton spent her early career working in newspapers and continued with freelance journalism. Though the Turkey Joint story was her first foray into creative non-fiction, her piece was chosen over hundreds of submissions, and is one of 12 essays that comprise “Main.”

“It’s very unusual in publishing to be accepted on a first try,” Nashton noted. “The details from that period of my life, plus the emotional appeal of a candy that’s been made locally by generations of the same family, is what attracted the editors.”

Nashton said the Turkey Joints story, while intensely personal, also captures the memories the Central New York community shares with the seasonal candy made at Nora’s Candy on Doxtator Street in Rome.

The launch of the book as well as a reading and book signings will be held at Keaton & Lloyd Book Shop, 236 W. Dominick St., at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 4. A second event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 29 at Jervis Public Library, 613 N. Washington St.

“Main” is published by Books By Hippocampus, a literary press based in Lancaster, Pa. Copies of the book can be purchased at Nashton’s public readings, or through the website TurkeyJointStory.com, and are $12.

“The book is a perfect complement to a gift of a jar of Turkey Joints, and offers a nostalgic look at a unique Central New York favorite,” Nashton said.