Ghost Image by Ellen Crosby

Ghost Image by Ellen Crosby Scribner, 2015 I had heard of Ellen Crosby’s Wine Country Mysteries (The Merlot Murders, The Chardonnay Charade, etc.) but had…

Dreams of the Red Phoenix by Virginia Pye

Dreams of the Red Phoenix by Virginia Pye. Unbridled Books, 2015 My friend Virginia Pye’s first published novel, River of Dust, centered on a group…

Love for Love at the American Shakespeare Center

As part of the 2016 Actors’ Renaissance Season at the American Shakespeare Center‘s Blackfriars Playhouse, the company is performing Love for Love by William Congreve….

Focus on Fiction–Nancy Christie interviews me

Nancy Christie interviewed me recently, and the result is here: Focus on Fiction, Interview with Clifford Garstang.

Becoming Madison by Michael Signer

Becoming Madison by Michael Signer Public Affairs, 2015 This book is the March 2016 selection of my book club, Reading Liberally, chosen in part…

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

The Children Act by Ian McEwan. Nan A. Talese, September 2014 It’s been awhile since I read a McEwan novel (and I confess that…

My Events at the Virginia Festival of the Book

This week, starting on Wednesday, you might see me dashing around Charlottesville, Virginia, heading to another literary event at the Virginia Festival of the…

The Lower Quarter by Elise Blackwell

The Lower Quarter by Elise Blackwell Unbridled Books, 2015 This book was originally part of one of the panels I’m moderating at the Virginia…

Support the LitMag Rankings, get a FREE book!

My annual rankings of literary magazines have become a go-to resource for many writers submitting their prose and poetry to journals. I am happy…

The Changing Room by Zhai Yongming

The Changing Room by Zhai Yongming (翟 永明) Zephyr Press, 2011 I have been dabbling with Chinese characters for almost 40 years since my…