Doug Worgul (born September 13, 1953) is an American writer and editor, living in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
.
Early life and education
Raised in
Battle Creek
Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...
and
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...
, Worgul is the oldest of three siblings. He graduated from J.W. Sexton High School in 1971, and attended
Gordon College (Massachusetts)
Gordon College is a Private college, private Christian college in Wenham, Massachusetts, United States. The college offers 44 majors, 55 concentrations, and 30 interdisciplinary and pre-professional minors as well as graduate programs in educat ...
from 1971 to 1972. He graduated from
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...
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 (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
, and again in 1977 with a
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...
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.
Etymology
The nam ...
, Michigan, from 1973 to 1989.
Career
Worgul moved to
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
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.'', and prior to his work as a journalist, Worgul was a social worker and an advertising and marketing consultant.
An expert on American
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
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 and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
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.
Worgul's first novel, ''Thin Blue Smoke'', set in a fictional barbecue joint in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
, was published in the UK by
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...
in 2009. The U.S. edition of ''Thin Blue Smoke'' was published by Burnside Books, now Bower House, in September 2012. His writing has been compared to that of
John Irving
John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American and Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of his fourth novel '' Th ...
,
Richard Russo
Richard Russo (born July 15, 1949) is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher. In 2002, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel '' Empire Falls''. Several of his works have been adapted into televisi ...
,
Kent Haruf
Alan Kent Haruf (, rhymes with ''sheriff''; February 24, 1943 – November 30, 2014) was an American writer. Born and raised in Colorado, Haruf attended Nebraska Wesleyan University and also received a master's degree from the Iowa Writers' Work ...
,
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
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies ...
. In July 2013, Worgul was named to the National Advisory Board of the Buechner Institute.
In January 2019, Worgul was named the first Visiting Author in Residence at
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...
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 are ...
* ''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)