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.
January 20, 2015

The New Yorker: “Inventions” by Isaac Bashevis Singer

January 26, 2015: “Inventions” by Isaac Bashevis Singer According to This Week in Fiction: Isaac Bashevis Singer this story was published in Yiddish in…
January 20, 2015

2015 Reading: Waking Up by Sam Harris

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris Recently, I had a brief online exchange with a former student who questioned by…
January 20, 2015

New Issue of Prime Number Magazine: No. 67

We have just published Issue 67 of Prime Number Magazine. Check it out! Fiction by Nick Ostdick and Michael Overa, Nonfiction by James Alan…
January 19, 2015

Prime Number Magazine Awards — 2015

Prime Number Magazine, of which I am the editor, is now accepting entries for the 2nd Annual Prime Number Magazine Awards. We have made…
January 19, 2015

2015 Reading: The Gettysburg Review, Autumn 2010

The Gettysburg Review, Autumn 2010 I’ve been a subscriber to TGR for a long time, so when I grabbed a copy to read this…
January 18, 2015

The New Yorker: “Pending Vegan” by Jonathan Lethem

April 7, 2014: “Pending Vegan” by Jonathan Lethem Paul, weaning himself from an anti-depressant, takes his family to SeaWorld. His daughter, Deirdre, is afraid…
January 17, 2015

Digging Deep: A Fiction Workshop

Beginning Tuesday, January 20, I’m teaching an 8-week fiction workshop at WriterHouse in Charlottesville that I call Digging Deep. My thinking is that writers–if…
January 16, 2015

Bridgewater International Poetry Festival — happening now!

Poetry fan? Head on over to Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia (about a half hour north of Staunton, VA, where I live) where the…
January 14, 2015

The New Yorker: “Breadman” by J. Robert Lennon

January 19, 2015: “Breadman” by J. Robert Lennon Weird story. I liked it. The first person narrator joins a queue in a small shop…
January 12, 2015

The New Yorker: “A Sheltered Woman” by Yiyun Li

March 10, 2014: “A Sheltered Woman” by Yiyun Li This is a terrific sketch of a character in a unique situation, but not much…