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.
May 20, 2017

Voyager: Travel Writings by Russell Banks

In 2003, shortly after I finished my MFA program, I saw an advertisement in Poets & Writers for a writing workshop in Mexico featuring…
May 10, 2017

Special Price on IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY

Some pretty awesome writers like Tim O’Brien, Elizabeth Strout, and Peter Ho Davies had some very kind words to say about my first collection…
March 16, 2017

Virginia Festival of the Book — March 22-26

The Virginia Festival of the Book is next week! This has long been one of my favorite events of the year. Before I had…
March 2, 2017

Everywhere Stories Volume II is now available for Kindle!

I am pleased to announce that Volume II of Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet is now available for Kindle. The book is…
February 26, 2017

Book Review: Letters to a Young Writer, by Colum McCann

Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann HarperCollins, April 2017 This is a short book of writing advice by one of my favorite…
January 31, 2017

Research Trip Phase IV: Colonial Singapore

I’m leaving for home tomorrow and have finished with the last phase of the research, a visit to Colonial-era buildings in Singapore. The British…
January 27, 2017

Research Trip Phase III: National Library of Singapore

It may seem as though this trip was just an excuse to be a tourist. But this week was hard-core research week as I…
January 21, 2017

Research Trip Phase II: Bali

It remains to be seen how relevant Bali is to my project, but it is at least tangentially important, so that was my reason…
January 18, 2017

Research Trip Phase I: Singapore Orchard Road and Botanic Gardens

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m currently in Southeast Asia on a research trip for my novel in progress. The first phase,…
January 15, 2017

Research: No substitute for being there.

When I began work on my current project–a novel set primarily in Singapore–I didn’t think I’d need to travel there to complete the book….