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 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…
December 9, 2006

>The Nobel Prize Lecture

>The winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature almost always give great, interesting lectures. Orhan Pamuk‘s is no exception. Here’s a sample: “A writer…
December 7, 2006

>Duotrope Digest

>If you are an “emerging” writer of fiction or poetry, you might benefit from Duotrope Digest, an index of markets for poetry, short fiction…
December 7, 2006

>Mistake Number 4

>I think it’s safe to say I agree with this one–miracles are pretty unusual in the fiction writing business. Bickham says, “The writing of…
December 4, 2006

>Late Night 1989 (Part 1)

>Check out a new-ish webzine, Five Chapters that serializes fiction. Today we have Late Night 1989 (Part 1) by Joshua Furst. Thanks to JimT…