Daniel Silva (born 1960) is an American journalist and author of thriller and spy novels.

Early life Silva was born in 1960 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. When he was seven years old, his family moved to Merced, California. He was raised as a Catholic.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Fresno. He began a graduate program in international relations at San Francisco State University but left when offered employment as a journalist at United Press International (UPI).

Career

Journalist Silva began his writing career as a journalist with a temporary position at UPI in 1984. His assignment was to cover the Democratic National Convention. UPI made Silva's position permanent and, a year later transferred him to the Washington, D.C. headquarters. After two more years, he was appointed as UPI's Middle East correspondent and moved to Cairo.

Silva returned to Washington, D.C., for a position with Cable News Network's Washington bureau. He worked as a producer and executive producer for several of CNN's television programs, including Crossfire and Capital Gang.

Novelist In 1994, he began work on his first novel, The Unlikely Spy (1996). The novel debuted on The New York Times best-seller list on January 26, 1997; it remained on the list for five weeks, rising to number 13. In 1997, Silva left CNN to pursue writing full-time.

Since then, Silva has written 27 more spy novels, all best-sellers on The New York Times list. Gabriel Allon, an Israeli art restorer, spy and assassin, is the protagonist in all but three of Silva's titles. The series has been a New York Times bestseller since its first installment in 2001. Thirteen of the series' titles hit number one on The New York Times list of best sellers (bibliography below). Some of his novels involve Islamic terrorism, some involve Russian villains, and some are highly fanciful accounts about historic events related to World War II and the Holocaust. Silva did not come into the Allon series with a significant understanding of the world of art restoration but was able to use a neighbor's expertise to help him turn a spy-assassin into an artist.

Adaptations In 2007, Universal Pictures made an offer to option the rights to Silva's Gabriel Allon series, starting with The Messenger (2006). In 2011, it was announced that Jeff Zucker would serve as producer, though the deal was never signed. On May 15, 2017, MGM Television acquired the adaption rights for the Allon series, though no production schedule was released and it was not specified which novel or novels were under consideration.

Personal life Silva met Jamie Gangel, a CNN special correspondent while they were both correspondents in the Middle East. They later married, and Silva converted from Catholicism to Judaism, his wife's religion.

Silva and his wife have twins. Silva frequently takes his children on research trips for his books.

Honors 2007 Barry Award for Best Thriller for The Messenger, 2013 Barry Award for Best Thriller for The Fallen Angel. In January 2009, Silva was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Published works Series Nbr Title Year ISBN NYT Weeks NYT Max Note None The Unlikely Spy 1996 0679455620 5 13 Michael Osbourne 1 The Mark of the Assassin 1998 0679455639 3 12 Michael Osbourne 2 The Marching Season 1999 0375500898 5 17 Gabriel Allon 1 The Kill Artist 2000 0375500901 1 12 Gabriel Allon 2 The English Assassin 2002 0399148515 4 7 Gabriel Allon 3 The Confessor 2003 0399149724 5 5 Gabriel Allon 4 A Death in Vienna 2004 0399151435 5 5 Nominated for 2005 Barry Award for Best Thriller Gabriel Allon 5 Prince of Fire 2005 0399152431 4 5 Gabriel Allon 6 The Messenger 2006 978-0399153358 6 3 Winner of 2007 Barry Award for Best Thriller Gabriel Allon 7 The Secret Servant 2007 978-0399154225 6 2 Gabriel Allon 8 Moscow Rules 2008 978-0399155017 6 1 Gabriel Allon 9 The Defector 2009 978-0399155680 4 1 Gabriel Allon 10 The Rembrandt Affair 2010 978-0399156588 6 1 Nominated for 2011 Barry Award for Best Thriller Gabriel Allon 11 Portrait of a Spy 2011 978-0062072184 6 2 Gabriel Allon 12 The Fallen Angel 2012 978-0062073129 6 1 Winner of 2013 Barry Award for Best Thriller Gabriel Allon 13 The English Girl 2013 978-0062073167 7 1 Gabriel Allon 14 The Heist 2014 978-0062320056 6 1 Gabriel Allon 15 The English Spy 2015 978-0062320056 7 1 Gabriel Allon 16 The Black Widow 2016 978-0062320223 71 Gabriel Allon 17 House of Spies 2017 978-0062354341 6 1 Gabriel Allon 18 The Other Woman 2018 978-0062834829 51 Gabriel Allon 19 The New Girl 2019 978-006283483651 Gabriel Allon 20 The Order 2020 978-146070976461 Gabriel Allon 21 The Cellist 2021978-006321198851 Gabriel Allon 22 Portrait of an Unknown Woman 2022 978-006-283485033 Gabriel Allon 23 The Collector 2023 978-0062834874 Gabriel Allon 24 A Death in Cornwall 2024 978-0062834874 1Gabriel Allon25An Inside Job2025978-0063384217Gabriel Allon26Ransom2026Weeks on The New York Times best seller list Highest level on The New York Times best seller list

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