Author: Cliff

I am the author of three novels--THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE, OLIVER'S TRAVELS, and THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY--and three story collections--IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE ANCIENTS AND OTHER STORIES, and WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. I am also the co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the award-winning anthology series EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET.
March 18, 2025

Remembering the Peace Corps

“The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love” The first week in March is Peace Corps Week, commemorating the founding of the Peace Corps in 1961…
March 8, 2025

International Women’s Day

Celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month with these books by or about women!
March 3, 2025

THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE is on sale!

Just $0.99 on Amazon Kindle, March 3 and 4. Wow. My novel, The Last Bird of Paradise, celebrated its first birthday (February 22), and…
January 31, 2025

2025 Reading–January

The Vegetarian by Han Kang. I was asked to moderate a discussion of this book in February, so I needed to reread it. It…
January 29, 2025

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the Year of the Snake I have never put any faith in Western astrology, and I couldn’t tell you any of the…
January 15, 2025

The Art of Storytelling

Point of View Revisited Auditor and Narrator: The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks Not long ago, I wrote in this space about Ann Patchett’s…
January 1, 2025

Out with the old . . .

And in with the new! Happy New Year! I know I’ve been quiet for a while, but here I am with a year-end report…
December 31, 2024

2024 Reading–November and December

Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie was my book club’s selection for November. The memoir is a gripping account of the…
December 25, 2024

2025 Literary Magazine Ranking–Poetry

Below is the 2025 Literary Magazine Ranking for Poetry. To understand the Rationale, Methodology, and Calculation for the Rankings, please go here. Note that every effort…
December 25, 2024

2025 Literary Magazine Ranking–Nonfiction

Below is the 2025 Literary Magazine Ranking for Nonfiction. To understand the Rationale, Methodology, and Calculation for the Rankings, please go here. Note that every effort…
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