Doug Worgul (born September 13, 1953) is an American writer and editor living in Kansas City.
Early life and education
Raised in
Battle Creek
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...
Gordon College (Massachusetts)
Gordon College is a private Christian college in Wenham, Massachusetts. The college offers 33 majors, 38 concentrations, and 21 interdisciplinary and pre-professional minors as well as graduate programs in education and music education. Gordo ...
from 1971 to 1972. He graduated from
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
in 1976 with a BA in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, and again in 1977 with a
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in education, with an emphasis on the teaching of reading. While a student at Western Michigan University, he studied writing and poetry under
Stuart Dybek
Stuart Dybek (born April 10, 1942) is an American writer of fiction and poetry.
Biography
Dybek, a second-generation Polish American, was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Chicago's Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods in the 1950s ...
. Worgul lived in
Kalamazoo County
Kalamazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. , the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo.
Kalamazoo County is included in the Kalamazoo– Portage, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Kalamazoo Count ...
, Michigan, from 1973 to 1989.
Career
Worgul moved to Kansas City in 1989 and worked for ''
The Kansas City Star
''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...
'' newspaper as a writer, book and features editor, and editor of ''Star Magazine'' from 1996 to 2006. He was previously editor of ''Kansas City Magazine.'' Prior to his work as a journalist, Worgul was a social worker and an advertising and marketing consultant.
A nationally recognized authority on the history and cultural significance of American barbecue traditions, Worgul has been interviewed and/or cited in numerous national and regional newspapers and magazines on the subject, and has also appeared on two
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
programs. From 2010 to 2020, he was Director of Marketing at Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. Worgul is the author of ''The Grand Barbecue: A Celebration of the History, Places, Personalities and Techniques of Kansas City Barbecue'' (Kansas City Star Books, 2001).
In 2003, while at ''The Kansas City Star'', Worgul discovered a Toynbee Tile at the corner of 13th and Grand in downtown Kansas City. He wrote about the Kansas City Toynbee Tile and the worldwide
Toynbee Tiles
The Toynbee tiles, also called Toynbee plaques, are messages of unknown origin found embedded in asphalt of streets in about two dozen major cities in the United States and four South American cities. Since the 1980s, several hundred tiles have ...
mystery in an award-winning article published on ''The Star's'' website. The article has been cited frequently in subsequent articles about the Toynbee Tile phenomenon.
Worgul's first novel, ''Thin Blue Smoke'', set in a fictional barbecue joint in Kansas City, is a story of love, loss, despair, redemption, squandered gifts, second chances, whiskey, God, and the secret language of rabbits. It was published in the UK by
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publ ...
in 2009. The U.S. edition of ''Thin Blue Smoke'' was published by Burnside Books, now Bower House, in September 2012. A strong sense of place permeates Worgul's writing. His writing has been compared to that of
John Irving
John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to ...
Kent Haruf
Alan Kent Haruf (February 24, 1943 – November 30, 2014) was an American novelist.
Life
Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister. In 1965 he graduated with a BA from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he would late ...
,
David James Duncan
David James Duncan (born 1952) at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library,
...
, and
Frederick Buechner
Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian minister, preacher, and theologian. The author of thirty-nine published books, his work encompassed different genres, including fiction, autob ...
. ''Thin Blue Smoke'' was a 2010 finalist for The People's Book Prize (UK). The ''Englewood Review of Books'' named ''Thin Blue Smoke'' its Novel of the Year in 2012. And the publishing blog, GalleyCat, named the book as one of 2012's 'Most Overlooked' books.
Matthew Quick
Matthew Quick (born October 23, 1973) is an American writer of adult and young adult fiction. His debut novel, ''The Silver Linings Playbook'', became a
New York Times bestseller and was adapted as a movie of the same name starring Bradley C ...
, author of the critically acclaimed novel ''
Silver Linings Playbook
''Silver Linings Playbook'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell. The film was based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel '' The Silver Linings Playbook''. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Law ...
'', praised ''Thin Blue Smoke'', saying "As Norman Maclean's ''A River Runs Through It'' does for Montana fly-fishing, Doug Worgul's ''Thin Blue Smoke'' makes the poetry of Kansas City barbecue accessible to all readers. More than gorgeous prose and fully developed characters – this novel offers us catharsis. Communion has never tasted so good."
Rajiv Joseph
Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play ''Descri ...
, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright also praised Worgul's ''Thin Blue Smoke'', saying "Emerging from this book, I want to go back, I want to live with these characters for just a little longer, I want their voices in my head. ''Thin Blue Smoke'' is a wandering through a community bound by their shared histories, their dreams, and the food they love. It reminds me of the best things in life. Like the good food holding these stories together, you can't believe your luck when you sit down before a full plate. And Doug Worgul has done what all great writers strive to do: make you crave for more."
A review posted on Amazon (April 2020) said of ''Thin Blue Smoke'' “…the prose will draw you in like a
John Prine
John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...
song.”
In 2009, the (UK) website Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights said ''Thin Blue Smoke'' was “As gentle & positive as a novel can be in the 21st century without being naff”.
''Thin Blue Smoke'' has been included on annual assigned reading lists at
The Barstow School
The Barstow School, formerly called Miss Barstow’s School, is a secular, coeducational, independent school, independent university preparatory school, preparatory school in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, USA. It was co-founded in 1884 by ...
. The book has also been taught at the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
Honors College and the
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
Honors College.
The film and television rights to ''Thin Blue Smoke'' have been optioned.
On October 22, 2012, Worgul delivered a lecture at The Buechner Institute at King College in Bristol, Tennessee, as part of the annual Buechner Lecture Series. In July 2013, Worgul was named to the National Advisory Board of the Buechner Institute. Other members of the Advisory Board included theologian
Walter Brueggemann
Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...
Kathleen Norris
Kathleen Thompson Norris (July 16, 1880 – January 18, 1966) was an American novelist and newspaper columnist. She was one of the most widely read and highest paid female writers in the United States for nearly fifty years, from 1911 to 1959. N ...
Philip Yancey
Philip Yancey (born November 4, 1949) is an American author who writes primarily about spiritual issues. His books have sold more than 15 million copies in English and have been translated into 40 languages, making him one of the best-selling con ...
. In May 2014, Worgul was a featured speaker at Buechner Fest in Charlotte, North Carolina, an event devoted to the exploration and celebration of the works of
Frederick Buechner
Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian minister, preacher, and theologian. The author of thirty-nine published books, his work encompassed different genres, including fiction, autob ...
.
In January 2019, Worgul was named the first Visiting Author in Residence at
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
Honors College.
Personal life
Worgul is the grandson of Francena H. Arnold, author of ''Not My Will'' and nine other works of fiction. He has four daughters and eight grandchildren and lives in
Leawood, Kansas
Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902.
History
19th century
After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the area ...
* ''A Table Full of Welcome'' (Kansas City Star Books, 2002)
* ''The Grand Barbecue: A Celebration of the History, Places, Personalities and Techniques of Kansas City Barbecue'' (Kansas City Star Books, 2001)
* ''Kansas City Quiltmakers: Portraits & Patterns'' (Kansas City Star Books, 2001)