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 19, 2006

>VCCA Day 5

>For the first time, VCCA is shutting down for the Christmas holiday. Which means that by the 22nd, when I leave, the place will…
December 18, 2006

>VCCA Day 4

> Sunday was quiet here as a number of fellows headed off to visit local sights–Charlottesville to the north, Lynchburg to the south (some…
December 17, 2006

>VCCA Day 3

> Day 3 already? Because it was Saturday, breakfast was a half hour later, so I was late getting out to my studio this…
December 16, 2006

>VCCA Day 2

>I got a fair amount of work done today, especially in the morning. In the late afternoon I took a walk in the woods…
December 15, 2006

>VCCA Day 1

>It’s as wonderful as I remembered–better, even, because there’s little of the new place anxiety. I got settled into my room–a great one, with…
December 14, 2006

>VCCA

>I’m off today for a week’s residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the wonderful artists’ retreat in Amherst, Virginia, across the…
December 14, 2006

>Mistake Number 5

> Bickham is getting serious with this one. What he calls “warming up the engines” I have also called “throat clearing.” I believe it…
December 10, 2006

>Friends in the NYTBR

>I love it when friends of mine get their books mentioned in the New York Times, and the Sunday NYT Book Review is even…
December 10, 2006

>A Christmas Carol

>I saw A Christmas Carol at the Blackfriars Playhouse today, a production of the American Shakespeare Center, featuring (again) the wonderful David Loar as…
December 9, 2006

>Santaland Diaries

>Traditionally, the American Shakespeare Center shifts to its holiday repertoire at this time of year for its performances at the Blackfriars Playhouse and this…