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 14, 2007

>Tinker Mountain Day 4

>The Wednesday night reading (Hal Ackerman, Pinckney Benedict and Dan Mueller) was terrific. Both Dan and Pinckney read new things and Hal, a screenwriter,…
June 13, 2007

>Tinker Mountain: Day 3

>Tuesday night’s reading was a “student reading” in the “Green Parlor” of one of Hollins’s grand old buildings in the center of campus. Fifteen…
June 12, 2007

>Tinker Mountain: Day 2

>The reading last night. Thorpe Moeckel read several new poems, from his book that is due out later this year, and also several from…
June 11, 2007

>Tinker Mountain: Day 1

>Here I am at the Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop. We all arrived here Sunday evening and had initial sessions with our groups to trade…
June 10, 2007

>ASC: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

>That certainly was a fun night at the theater. Lately, all the performances I’ve been to at the Blackfriars Playhouse have been well-attended (it’s…
June 10, 2007

>The New Yorker: "Roy Spivey" by Miranda July

>I am not familiar with Miranda July’s work except for her hilarious website promoting her new book. Certainly this story is clever, especially in…
June 10, 2007

>The New Yorker: "Wildwood" by Junot Diaz

>No lack of conflict here. Lola is the rebellious teenaged daughter of a single Dominican mother in New Jersey. They’re both hard to get…
June 9, 2007

>Bits of good news

>One nice thing that happened this week was the arrival of my contributor copies of The Ledge, No. 30, including my story “Saving Melissa.”…
June 9, 2007

>Blogging-lite

>It’s been a little slow this week, hasn’t it? Still recovering from Short Story Month, maybe? Spending too much time talking about politics? Getting…
June 7, 2007

>Mistake Number 12

>I can’t help feel that Bickham is a bit rigid in the way he states this rule. On the other hand, until a writer…