3 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:5.00

Doug Worgul’s Followers (7)

Doug’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (3)

Doug’s Friends

Doug hasn't connected with his friends on Goodreads, yet.

Doug Worgul

Goodreads Author

Twitter

DougWorgul

Member Since

July 2010

edit data

Raised mostly in Lansing, Michigan, Worgul is the oldest of three siblings. He graduated from J.W. Sexton High School in 1971, and attended Gordon College (Massachusetts) from 1971 to 1972. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 1976 with a BA in political science, and again in 1977 with a M.A. in education, with an emphasis on the teaching of reading. He lived in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, from 1973 to 1989.

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 n Raised mostly in Lansing, Michigan, Worgul is the oldest of three siblings. He graduated from J.W. Sexton High School in 1971, and attended Gordon College (Massachusetts) from 1971 to 1972. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 1976 with a BA in political science, and again in 1977 with a M.A. in education, with an emphasis on the teaching of reading. He lived in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, from 1973 to 1989.

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 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 programs. He 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 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 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, and Frederick Buechner. Thin Blue Smoke was a 2010 finalist for The People's Book Prize. 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."

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.
From January to May 2019, Worgul was the Visiting Author in Residence at University of Missouri Honors College.

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 with his wife. ...more

Combine Editions
Doug Worgul’s books

Average rating: 4.17 · 451 ratings · 89 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Thin Blue Smoke 4.15 avg rating — 390 ratings — published 2009 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thin Blue Smoke: A Novel About Music, Food, and Love 4.37 avg rating — 46 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Grand Barbecue: A Celebration of the History, Places, Personalities and Techniques of Kansas City Barbecue 4.10 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2001	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Table Full of Welcome: A Cookbook really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2002	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kansas City Quiltmakers: Portraits & Patterns by Doug Worgul (Goodreads Author), Jeanel Drake (Photographer) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2001	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Thin Blue Smoke Paperback – August 17, 2012 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que Cookbook by Jeff Stehney, Doug Worgul (Goodreads Author) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Doug Worgul…

rss
Doug’s Recent Updates

Doug Worgul liked Steve Buttry's review of Stolen Postcards: "Jan Ackerson's best writing tool is not her imagination but yours. In Stolen Postcards, Ackerson intrigues the reader with 365 stories that are so short you can't really call them short stories. They are more like glimpses. Or, as the title says, pos" Read more of this review »
Oct 09, 2025 02:01PM · see review
Doug Worgul liked Cathy B's review of Stolen Postcards: "Jan Ackerson’s new release, Stolen Postcards, is a collection of 366 tiny stories, one for each day of the year. But much like the famous potato chip commercial claims, it’s hard to stop at just one. I wanted to read them all, one after another, with" Read more of this review »
Oct 09, 2025 02:00PM · see review
Doug Worgul liked Sue's review of Stolen Postcards: "Any one of these short, short stories could be extended into a full novel. A different scenario for every month of the year - each one exactly 100 words. I would love to meet the author, Jan Ackerson, for she has a great imagination."
Oct 09, 2025 02:00PM · see review

More of Doug's books…

Quotes by Doug Worgul (?)

“Love is hard. We try to love one another. But generally the quality and quantity of our love for one another is found wanting, because we find it difficult, if not impossible, to look beyond those things that are ugly and unlovable in those we try to love. Even though the things that are ugly and unlovable in ourselves are the very things that cause us to cry out for love.”
― Doug Worgul, Thin Blue Smoke

tags: faith, hope, love

4 likes

“Like most Michigan natives, Ferguson had a vague knowledge of a thing called barbecue, but had never actually eaten any. He was, however, intimately familiar with whiskey.”
― Doug Worgul, Thin Blue Smoke

tags: bbq, humor, whiskey

1 likes

“You need a D for your sign outside,” said Rooney. “It says ‘smoke meat’. Shouldn’t it say ‘smoked meat’? Smoked, with a D?” He wasn’t smirking anymore and appeared to have developed a severe blinking disorder. “You work over there at the Star, don’t you?” asked the guy behind the counter.”
― Doug Worgul, Thin Blue Smoke: A Novel About Music, Food, and Love

0 likes

See all Doug Worgul's quotes »

Doug’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.