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 27, 2008

>4 Days Left to Vote

>There are just 4 days left to vote for the 2008 New Yorker Story of the Year. See Perpetual Folly: Vote for New Yorker…
December 27, 2008

>The New Yorker: “The Gangsters” by Colson Whitehead

>It seems as though the magazine saved the best for last. Not only is this a gripping story of two young brothers—who are close…
December 27, 2008

>The New Yorker: “Meeting with Enrique Lihn” by Roberto Bolaño

>This is the one story in this double issue that I didn’t love. And the main reason for not liking it is that the…
December 27, 2008

>The New Yorker: "Some Women" by Alice Munro

>This is a retrospective story that does a great job of contrasting the present with the memory. The narrator at one point compares a…
December 27, 2008

>The New Yorker: "Another Manhattan" by Donald Antrim

>With one exception—and I suspect some may quarrel with me about that—the stories in the Winter Fiction Issue (December 22 & 29) are among…
December 25, 2008

>Harold Pinter Dies

>Harold Pinter has has died. He was a great playwright and won the Nobel Prize in 2005.
December 25, 2008

>Reminder: Vote for New Yorker 2008 Story of the Year

>Just a reminder: the polls are still open for New Yorker 2008 Story of the Year. Vote in the sidebar. The finalists are– January…
December 25, 2008

>American Shakespeare Center: Santaland Diaries

>Last year was the first year I saw David Sedaris’s The Santaland Diaries at the American Shakespeare Center‘s Blackfriars Playhouse. It was great (Paul…
December 24, 2008

>Huss & Dalton

>I wish I played guitar just so I could aspire to own one of these beautiful instruments made by Huss & Dalton right here…
December 24, 2008

>On Process

>Writer Gay Degani has some helpful observations on the process of writing: Process and Malcolm and Outliers.