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 16, 2011

>The New Yorker: "Rollingwood" by Ben Marcus

> Ben Marcus has a new novel coming out next year, The Flame Alphabet, but from what I’ve read about that book, this story…
March 16, 2011

>Helen Schulman Shares Novel-Writing Tips From Cynthia Ozick to Jennifer Egan | Word Craft – WSJ.com

>Helen Schulman Shares Novel-Writing Tips From Cynthia Ozick to Jennifer Egan | Word Craft – WSJ.com Here’s a snippet: Starting from page one is…
March 13, 2011

>The New Yorker: "Going for a Beer" by Robert Coover

> I may be referring to this story for years to come for the brilliant way time passes in every sentence. The point of…
March 13, 2011

>Prime Number Magazine updated today, 3/13/11

> It’s national prime number day and we’ve posted our lasted update (#5.5) to Prime Number Magazine, with work by Steve Mitchell, Meg Tuite,…
March 12, 2011

>SWAG WriterDay – March

> SWAG — the Staunton, Waynesboro, Augusta Group of Writers — has been holding monthly WriterDay happy hour celebrations for the past few months,…
March 7, 2011

>Why Do Writers Abandon Novels? – NYTimes.com

> Why Do Writers Abandon Novels? – NYTimes.com On my Facebook page we’re having a discussion about this topic, and for most of us…
March 7, 2011

>The Northville Review | In Hoan Kiem Lake

> I’m very happy that my story “In Hoan Kiem Lake” is now live at The Northville Review. This story is part of a…
March 3, 2011

>The New Yorker: "Backbone" by David Foster Wallace

> This New Yorker story is available for free, folks, so have at it. It’s more brilliance from David Foster Wallace. That’s the good…
February 28, 2011

>Too many books, not enough books

> I started a bookshelf-reorganization project in December–it seemed like something to do over the holidays–but didn’t quite finish. Just yesterday I managed to…
February 27, 2011

>Gecko tails

>My friend Julie Wakeman-Linn, editor of Potomac Review, is taking some time off to get some writing done. In Tanzania. She’s blogging about the…