Vince R. Ditrich

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Vince R. Ditrich lives deep in the rain forest of Vancouver Island, set so remotely in the bush that the nearest Wal Mart is nearly 12 minutes away by mule.

A retired musician, he has now joined the high-flying ranks of Canadian authors, yet another savvy business decision, right up there with helping that Nigerian Prince with his bank transfer a few years ago. Vince’s interests include sleeping in, schlumpfing around in old man slippers, reading books about other people exercising, and being gripped by an artsy ennui that’d be fashionable if he wasn’t in that wretched Star Trek bathrobe.

Vince’s wife cannot believe she got hitched to such a weirdo and often thinks of the time she turned down a marriage proposal from a man in a toupée who has now climbed way up to middle management at the bottle depot – Stability had been right at her fingertips…

His previous novels from  “The Liquor Vicar” series did not win a Pulitzer, Giller, Leacock, Gov Gen’s Award or even ‘Best in Show’. He has set his sights on a Nobel in the future. I mean, they gave one to Bob Dylan, for God’s sake.

Vince was winner of the First Prize in Humour at the 2023 and 2024 Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Annual event. 

 

Published Works

FICTION

Ditrich presents a fresh, gonzo voice in his debut novel, a quirky tale of the down side of life and a promise of redemption in a narrative that is entertaining.

Booklist

Funny, silly, lighthearted, sentimental, snarky, and often hyperactive with comic energy, Vince R. Ditrich’s novel tells a tall, quirky tale of redemption in snack-sized chapters.

 

Vancouver Sun

The Liquor Vicar is an energetic romp through a closet community on the Island, populated by well-drawn characters and strewn with more references to pop culture and euphemisms than you can shake a stick at.

Winnipeg Free Press

Readers will find themselves strapping in for a whiplash-inducing ride — down twisting small-town and forested roads, past magnificent Vancouver Island views, in any one of the many character vehicles that careen through the book.

 

The British Columbia Review

Vince Ditrich has created a cast of unique, memorable characters and a story that just won't let go of you ... Tony Vicar is the car wreck that you just can't peel your eyes away from. I found myself cringing, laughing, and rooting for him, sometimes all within the same scene. The writing is witty, imaginative, and engrossing. I hope this is not the last that we hear of Tony Vicar and his band of misfits.

Martin Crosbie
bestselling author of the 'My Temporary Life' series

With fiery, brilliant, and often hilarious wordplay, Vince Ditrich brings us Tony Vicar, a voice so clear he may in fact exist — and either way we pray he does, stumbling along with his discombobulated entourage. The adventures of the Liquor Vicar have just begun, and the Pacific Northwest is the richer for it.

Peter McCormack
author of 'Understanding Ken'

A laugh out loud, wild romp with a cast of hilarious eccentrics.

Alison Kelly
Granville Island ABC – A Family Adventure

The Liquor Vicar is like a weekend I have always wanted to have. Filled with fun, crazy people on an adventure that no one could imagine. Well, no one other than Vince, I guess. Turns out one of my favourite drummers will become one of my favourite novelists, too. Ain’t life grand that way?

Alan Doyle
author of 'A Newfoundlander in Canada'

A very entertaining read, with a cast of characters that feel like you’ve met before. The Liquor Vicar is full of the troubled and broken hearted, but Ditrich finds depth and honesty, and most centrally the humour in these intersecting lives. A great debut.

 

Aaron Chapman
author of 'Vancouver After Dark'

I laughed — really hard. In my experience drummers tend to be outrageously funny people. Ditrich lends evidence to this observation — a superb drummer and a supremely funny writer. His novel is loaded with, to quote the book, ‘exotic descriptors gratuitously diacritical and absent of meaning’. It had me doubled over with laughter.

Rob Baker
guitarist in The Tragically Hip

The Liquor Vicar is beautiful chaos. Ditrich’s characters come alive with all the complexity of a Shakespearean comedy and a uniquely Canadian dry wit. Colourful characters carry this story like a current, moving seamlessly from side-splitting humour to tenderness as it explores our human desire for relevance and purpose.

Melanie Martin
author of 'A Splendid Boy'