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.
March 14, 2016

My Events at the Virginia Festival of the Book

This week, starting on Wednesday, you might see me dashing around Charlottesville, Virginia, heading to another literary event at the Virginia Festival of the…
March 12, 2016

The Lower Quarter by Elise Blackwell

The Lower Quarter by Elise Blackwell Unbridled Books, 2015 This book was originally part of one of the panels I’m moderating at the Virginia…
March 11, 2016

Support the LitMag Rankings, get a FREE book!

My annual rankings of literary magazines have become a go-to resource for many writers submitting their prose and poetry to journals. I am happy…
March 10, 2016

The Changing Room by Zhai Yongming

The Changing Room by Zhai Yongming (翟 永明) Zephyr Press, 2011 I have been dabbling with Chinese characters for almost 40 years since my…
March 7, 2016

Heifetz International Music Institute: Keyboard Journeys

Sunday afternoon I attended a special benefit concert in support of a scholarship fund for the Heifetz International Music Institute. The Institute, which provides an…
March 6, 2016

On Stage: The Sea Voyage by Fletcher and Massigner

Yesterday I saw a play I’ve never seen before–Fletcher and Massigner’s The Sea Voyage–as part of the American Shakespeare Center‘s Renaissance Season. Based on The Tempest, which…
March 3, 2016

And West is West by Ron Childress

And West is West by Ron Childress Winner of the Pen/Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, this novel tells the story of two Americans who…
February 22, 2016

The Tears of Dark Water by Corban Addison

The Tears of Dark Water by Corban Addison Thomas Nelson, 2015 Having read Addison’s first novel, A Walk Across the Sun, I had an idea of…
February 16, 2016

Why the Right Went Wrong by E.J. Dionne Jr.

Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism-From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond by E.J. Dionne Jr. Simon & Schuster, January 2016 This book is…
February 12, 2016

Two if by Sea by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Two If by Sea by Jacquelyn Mitchard Simon & Schuster, March 2016 I read this book because the author is part of a panel I…