{{Short description|American author}} {{Infobox writer | honorific_suffix = | name = David McCloskey | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Minnesota, USA | occupation = Writer, CIA analyst, consultant | education = | alma_mater = Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | period = 2021 - | genre = spy fiction | subject = | movement = | notableworks = | spouse = | partner = | children = | relatives = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | website = {{URL|https://www.davidmccloskeybooks.com/}} | portaldisp = }} '''David McCloskey''' is an American writer of spy fiction and podcast host. He is a former staff member of the Central Intelligence Agency.
== Early life == McCloskey was born in Minnesota.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Hoskin |first=Peter |title=Meet David McCloskey, America's answer to John le Carré |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/views/people/61727/david-mccloskey-america-john-le-carre-cia |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=www.prospectmagazine.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> He majored in international studies at Wheaton College,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=By S. Holland |date=2022-02-14 |title=The Marvelous McCloskeys |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2022/february/the-marvelous-mccloskeys/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=D Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=College |first=Wheaton |title=Agent to Author |url=https://www.wheaton.edu/magazine/winter-2022/web/agent-to-author/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Wheaton College |language=en}}</ref> and holds a M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies where he specialised in energy policy and the Middle East.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |date=2025-06-09 |title=An IACSP Q&A With David McCloskey, Former CIA Analyst And Author Of The CIA Thriller “The Seventh Floor.” – IACSP Journal |url=https://iacspjournal.com/interviews/an-iacsp-qa-with-david-mccloskey-former-cia-analyst-and-author-of-the-cia-thriller-the-seventh-floor/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |language=en}}</ref>
== Career == McCloskey worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for six years as an analyst on Syria. He was stationed across the Middle East, and regularly contributed to intelligence briefings for the White House. He left the CIA in 2016 and worked as a consultant for McKinsey, advising clients from the aerospace and transportation sectors on security issues.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title="Damascus Station" — A Book Talk and Conversation on Middle East Security with Former CIA Analyst David McCloskey {{!}} LBJ School of Public Affairs |url=https://lbj.utexas.edu/damascus-station-book-talk |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=lbj.utexas.edu |language=en}}</ref>
He has stated that he started writing fiction partly as a way to mentally process his time at the CIA. His first novel ''Damascus Station'' was published in 2021, and tells the story of a CIA operative in Syria during the Assad regime.<ref name=":0" /> His novels have received generally positive reviews, and have been widely translated.<ref name=":2" /> In 2026, he signed a first-look deal with Prologue Entertainment to develop film and television projects based on his writing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2026-02-12 |title=‘Zero Day’ & ‘A House Of Dynamite’ Producer Prologue Entertainment Signs Bestselling Author David McCloskey To First-Look Deal |url=https://deadline.com/2026/02/david-mccloskey-signs-first-look-deal-prologue-entertainment-1236717915/ |access-date=2026-02-17 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>
Since 2024, he is the co-host of the Goalhanger podcast ''The Rest Is Classified,'' which he presents with British journalist Gordon Corera.
== Bibliography ==
* ''Damascus Station'' (2021)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=Robert |date=2023-04-17 |title=Damascus Station (David McCloskey) - book review - |url=https://theblurb.com.au/wp/damascus-station-david-mccloskey-book-review/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=The Blurb |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Moscow X'' (2023)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-23 |title=Spies Like Us: On David McCloskey's “Moscow X” |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/spies-like-us-on-david-mccloskeys-moscow-x |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books}}</ref> * ''The Seventh Floor'' (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenheim |first=Andrew |date=2025-01-14 |title=A mole in the CIA: The Seventh Floor, by David McCloskey, reviewed |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-mole-in-the-cia-the-seventh-floor-by-david-mccloskey-reviewed/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=The Spectator |language=en-GB}}</ref> * ''The Persian'' ''(2025)''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whaley |first=Shane |date=2025-10-27 |title=The Persian by David McCloskey - Spy Thriller Review |url=https://spybrary.com/the-persian-by-david-mccloskey-review/ |access-date=2026-02-17 |website=Spybrary |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCloskey, David}} Category:American spy fiction writers Category:21st-century American male writers Category:Analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency Category:McKinsey & Company people Category:Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Category:Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Category:American podcasters Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people