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 22, 2015

Best New Fiction Reviews — a new book review site

I am pleased to announce that I’ve teamed up with a few other writers to create a new book review site called Best New…
March 19, 2015

2015 Reading: Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Brooklyn: A Novel by Colm Toibin I listened to the audio version of this book, with appropriate Irish accents for many of the characters, something…
March 19, 2015

Virginia Festival of the Book

The Virginia Festival of the Book is a five-day literary orgy of readings and panel discussions centered on books. I started coming to the…
March 16, 2015

The New Yorker: “All You Have to Do” by Sarah Braunstein

March 16, 2015: “All You Have to Do” by Sarah Braunstein It’s 1972, Sid is 16, and he meets Bill, a tin foil salesman….
March 16, 2015

2015 Reading: Silent Murders by Mary Miley

Silent Murders (A Roaring Twenties Mystery) by Mary Miley This is the second in a series of mysteries set in the Roaring Twenties. The first…
March 15, 2015

The New Yorker: “A Death” by Stephen King

March 9, 2015: “A Death” by Stephen King I’ve never been a fan of King’s and this story is definitely not going to change…
March 10, 2015

2015 Reading: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Fight Club: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk I’ve never seen the movie, but I’ve seen some of the clips, so I wasn’t prepared for the…
March 1, 2015

2015 Reading: We Were Flying to Chicago by Kevin Clouther

We Were Flying to Chicago by Kevin Clouther I might not have heard of this collection of stories except I’m going to be on a…
February 26, 2015

The New Yorker: “Ba Baboon” by Thomas Pierce

June 2, 2014: “Ba Baboon” by Thomas Pierce I’m still getting caught up on the 2014 stories and hadn’t read this one yet, so…
February 25, 2015

Teaching Old and New Stories Together

Against my better judgment, I agreed to teach a fiction workshop this winter in Charlottesville at WriterHouse. The class is fun and the “students”…