Joe Clifford is an American author and editor. His work crosses genres but features mystery and crime fiction. Past struggles with addiction, about which he is candid, have fundamentally influenced his writing.
Background
Clifford, a native of Berlin, Connecticut, quit Central Connecticut State University and moved to San Francisco in 1992 to pursue a career in rock 'n' roll music. While there, Clifford fell into heroin addiction, which lasted until he hit bottom in 2001. After numerous failed attempts at rehab, he finally embarked on a lasting recovery. He pursued a new direction, earning an MFA in creative writing at Florida International University, where he studied under James W. Hall, Les Standiford, and Lynne Barrett. Clifford's personal memoir-cum-novel, Junkie Love, portrays his descent and recovery. Addiction is also a prominent theme in his "Jay Porter" mystery series. In interviews, Clifford has described his credo as a writer as "gritty, real and raw," which is also the motto he has given to a series of lectures that he has produced. These lectures, he has said, "mine true stories of the marginalized to laugh, cringe and shine a light on the human condition."
Awards and recognitions
Clifford received an Acker Award in 2013. This tribute, named for Kathy Acker, is given to members of the avant garde arts community who have made outstanding contributions in their discipline in defiance of convention, or else served their fellow writers and artists in outstanding ways. Previously, in 2012, Clifford was nominated for a Pushcart Prize for his story "Stuck Between Stations." He went on to be nominated twice in 2015 for an Anthony Award, both as novelist and editor. He also received two Anthony Award nominations in 2018, for Best Novel in a Series and editor. Clifford's Rag and Bone was nominated in 2020 for Best Hardcover Novel in the International Thriller Writers Awards.
Additional literary activity
Clifford also serves as acquisitions editor for Gutter Books and producer of Lip Service West, a reading series in Oakland, California. Previously, he was one of the chief editors for "Out of the Gutter Online". He teaches writing as well, including online classes for LitReactor.com and instruction at conferences and retreats.
Personal life
Clifford and his wife Justine are the parents of two young sons: Holden and Jackson.
