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, 2014

The New Yorker: “A Mistake” by Akhil Sharma

January 20, 2014: “A Mistake” by Akhil Sharma As we learn in the Q&A with Akhil Sharma, this story is “adapted from parts” of…
January 20, 2014

The New Yorker: “The Frog Prince” by Robert Coover

January 27, 2014: “The Frog Prince” by Robert Coover According to the Q&A with Robert Coover, this is a “reimagined fairy tale.” Well, yes….
January 17, 2014

2014 Reading: Transatlantic by Colum McCann

TransAtlantic: A Novel by Colum McCann As with McCann’s previous novel, the masterful Let the Great World Spin, this novel is told in strands that seem…
January 15, 2014

Ain’t Technology Amazing?

I took some time off today to head “over the mountain” (which is what we in the Central Shenandoah Valley say when we’re going…
January 12, 2014

The New Yorker: “The Paper Revolution” by Dinaw Mengestu

January 13, 2014: “The Paper Revolution” by Dinaw Mengestu This fiction is an excerpt from a novel by Mengestu that comes out this spring,…
January 2, 2014

Writing Goals for 2014

I’ve seen a lot of my writer friends post their writing goals on Facebook, and I think that’s a good practice, so instead of…
January 1, 2014

The New Yorker: “First Husband” by Antonya Nelson

January 6, 2014: “First Husband” by Antonya Nelson This is a terrific story with a lot going on. It’s a little hard to keep…
December 31, 2013

My Year in Reading: 2013

I read about 80 books this year. I thought I was going to hit 100, but I had a terrifically busy fall. Still, 80…
December 30, 2013

The New Yorker: Stories of the Year — 2013

New Yorker Stories of the Year   For the past several years, I’ve been asking readers to vote on the New Yorker Story of…
December 29, 2013

The New Yorker: “Coming Soon” by Steven Millhauser

December 16, 2013: “Coming Soon” by Steven Millhauser Weird story. Twilight Zone? Kafka? (I couldn’t find a Q&A with Millhauser, so I guess we’re…