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.
December 17, 2009

>VCCA Report, Days 5 & 6

>Not much to report about Tuesday. I worked. I graded papers. I got a lot done but it wasn’t a very exciting day. Wednesday…
December 16, 2009

>Rain Taxi Benefit Auction

>Check out the cool stuff available at the Rain Taxi Benefit Auction. As you probably know, Rain Taxi Review of Books is a wonderful…
December 16, 2009

>VCCA Report, Day 4

>Monday was a good day, with few distractions. It was very wet from the rainy weekend, so I didn’t walk in the woods. Just…
December 14, 2009

>VCCA Report, Day 3

>On Sunday morning we woke up to ice everywhere. Breakfast was limited–the kitchen regulars couldn’t get in–and it was even tricky making the short…
December 13, 2009

>VCCA Report, Day 2

>It was nice to see Chef Rhonda at dinner Friday night. She has made such a difference here! After dinner, there was a Fellows…
December 11, 2009

>VCCA Report, Day 1

>I’m rewarding myself with a little internet break! I got here Thursday morning, after a beautiful drive over the mountain. I spent the afternoon…
December 10, 2009

>Do you know the way to VCCA?

>I’m off to VCCA today. That’s the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, an incredible retreat for artists. “Retreat” never sounds right, though, because…
December 9, 2009

>NEA Literature Fellowships (Prose)

>Congratulations to the recipients of the 2010 Literature Fellowships (Prose), especially my friends on the list. It’s a great honor (and also a tidy,…
December 9, 2009

>The New Yorker: "All That" by David Foster Wallace

>Is it safe to assume that this “story” is an excerpt from David Foster Wallace’s posthumous novel, The Pale King, due out in 2011?…