Doug Worgul

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Doug Worgul
Born	(1953-09-13) September 13, 1953 (age 70) St. Johns, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Spouse	Rebecca Sesler

Doug Worgul (born September 13, 1953) is an American writer and editor living in Kansas City.

Early life and education

Raised in

Career

Worgul moved to Kansas City in 1989 and worked for The Kansas City Star 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

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 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, Richard Russo, Kent Haruf, David James Duncan, and Frederick Buechner. 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, author of the critically acclaimed novel Silver Linings Playbook, 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, 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 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 book has also been taught at the University of Missouri Honors College and the Rutgers University Honors College.

The film and television rights to Thin Blue Smoke have been optioned.

On October 22, 2012, Worgul delivered a lecture at

In January 2019, Worgul was named the first Visiting Author in Residence at University of Missouri Honors College.

Personal life

Worgul is the grandson of

• "Meet Kansas City", Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, 2008, [1]
• Author bio, www.panmacmillan.com, [2]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Doug Worgul.

• "Space Oddity", Kansas City Star, September 6, 2003
• Thin Blue Smoke on Amazon
• Publisher's official site
• Video on
  YouTube
• 12 Books of Fiction That Will Shape Your Theology Archived September 7, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
• Looking for a Book to Read During the Holiday Break