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.
September 17, 2012

The New Yorker: “The Third-Born” by Mohsin Hamid

September 24, 2012: “The Third-Born” by Mohsin Hamid As far as I’m concerned, this “story” has two strikes against it. First, it is an…
September 17, 2012

Grateful

I am on my way home this morning after a terrific few days in Chicago. I was here for a conference at Northwestern University,…
September 11, 2012

Man Booker Prize Short List

I’m a fan of the Man Booker Prize, and I usually try to read at least the winning book each year and sometimes a…
September 10, 2012

The New Yorker: “The Last Few Kilometres” by Leonard Tsypkin

September 17, 2012: “The Last Few Kilometres” by Leonard Tsypkin I don’t recognize the name of the writer, from Minsk, who died in 1982….
September 7, 2012

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett: The Hero’s Journey

This week I read the novel State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. While there are aspects of the book I might quarrel with (the characters are…
September 5, 2012

October 1 is ZHANG BOYS Day

My novel in stories, WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, will be published on October 1, 2012. (Advance copies are already available, but this is…
September 3, 2012

The New Yorker: “The Casserole” by Thomas McGuane

September 10, 2012: “The Casserole” by Thomas McGuane Mercifully short, the story is about a couple traveling to the wife’s parents’ ranch to celebrate…
September 3, 2012

Procrastination

The very act of creating this post is procrastination, of course. I’m supposed to be working on a new book–that’s what my mind’s schedule…
September 2, 2012

New story in Bourbon Penn: “American Marsupial”

I’m very pleased to report that my story “American Marsupial” is included in the new issue of Bourbon Penn, available in hardcopy, for your…
September 2, 2012

We have a winner!

A couple of weeks ago, in connection with an interview I did with Susan Woodring, I ran a contest for a free advance reader’s…