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.
June 27, 2007

>The New Yorker: "The Mahogany Elephant" by Maxim Biller

>This one doesn’t do much for me, largely because I don’t buy the characters’ behavior, especially the woman. She has just returned from three…
June 26, 2007

>The Binnacle Ultra-short Competition

>Recently I posted a copy of my ultra-short fiction, “Tornado Weather,” which was one of the finalists in the 2006 Binnacle Ultra-short Competition. The…
June 26, 2007

>LitMag Wave: The Sun, July 2007

>“Hungarian Relief” by Madeena Spray Nolan is in the July issue of The Sun. Coming of age, with a twist, and the twist is…
June 23, 2007

>Get Paid For Your Writing?

>Apparently the new issue of Poets & Writers includes an article by Steve Almond in which he argues that writers should not be willing…
June 22, 2007

>Don Reid Pens Novel

>Although I’m not a fan of their music–or country music in general–the Statler Brothers are heroes here in Staunton, Virginia, their home town, so…
June 22, 2007

>The New Yorker: "Homework" by Helen Simpson

>George is thirteen. He comes home from school and whines to his mother that he has an essay due the next day on an…
June 20, 2007

>Congratulations Susan Meyers!

>SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) yesterday announced the winners of the 2007 SIBA Awards and I am thrilled that Susan Myers’s book Keep and…
June 20, 2007

>Eureka!

>Eureka Literary Magazine, that is. I’m very fond of this magazine, one of the first to publish my work. At the time, they didn’t…
June 19, 2007

>The New Yorker: "Sweetheart Sorrow" by David Hoon Kim

>Set in Paris, the narrator is concerned about Fumiko, another foreign student. He, it turns out, was born in Japan but was adopted as…
June 18, 2007

>Rain Taxi

>Are you familiar with Rain Taxi? You’re a book lover, right? So you should be. The magazine is quarterly in both print and, with…