His novel Hidden Place (Akashic Books) has received rave reviews from newspapers, literary magazines, and Connie Martinson Talks Books, (national cable television, UK and Ireland). Library Journal included Hidden Place in “Summer Highs, Fall Firsts,” a 2004 list of most successful debuts. He received an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship for his work and was a three-time Finalist for the James novel-in-progress contest, sponsored by the Heekin Group Foundation. New City Newspaper elected Shiflett to their Chicago Lit 50 list, an annual ranking of top figures in the Chicago Literary scene. He recently published Hey, Liberal! (Chicago Review Press), a novel about a white boy going to a predominately African American high school in Chicago in the late 1960’s.