David McCloskey
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David McCloskey
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In a 2025 interview
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| Born |
Minnesota, USA
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| Education | Wheaton College (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA) |
| Occupations | Writer, CIA analyst, consultant |
| Writing career | |
| Period | 2021–present |
| Genre | spy fiction |
| Website | www.davidmccloskeybooks.com |
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.[1] He majored in international studies at Wheaton College,[2][3] and holds a M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies where he specialised in energy policy and the Middle East.[4]
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.[4][5]
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.[1] His novels have received generally positive reviews, and have been widely translated.[3] In 2026, he signed a first-look deal with Prologue Entertainment to develop film and television projects based on his writing.[6]
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)[7]
- Moscow X (2023)[8]
- The Seventh Floor (2024)[9]
- The Persian (2025)[10]
- London Station (2026)[11]
References
- ^ a b Hoskin, Peter. "Meet David McCloskey, America's answer to John le Carré". www.prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ Murphy, By S. Holland (February 14, 2022). "The Marvelous McCloskeys". D Magazine. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ a b College, Wheaton. "Agent to Author". Wheaton College. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ a b "An IACSP Q&A With David McCloskey, Former CIA Analyst And Author Of The CIA Thriller "The Seventh Floor." – IACSP Journal". June 9, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ ""Damascus Station" — A Book Talk and Conversation on Middle East Security with Former CIA Analyst David McCloskey | LBJ School of Public Affairs". lbj.utexas.edu. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (February 12, 2026). "'Zero Day' & 'A House Of Dynamite' Producer Prologue Entertainment Signs Bestselling Author David McCloskey To First-Look Deal". Deadline. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
- ^ Goodman, Robert (April 17, 2023). "Damascus Station (David McCloskey) - book review -". The Blurb. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ "Spies Like Us: On David McCloskey's "Moscow X"". Los Angeles Review of Books. March 23, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ Rosenheim, Andrew (January 14, 2025). "A mole in the CIA: The Seventh Floor, by David McCloskey, reviewed". The Spectator. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ Whaley, Shane (October 27, 2025). "The Persian by David McCloskey - Spy Thriller Review". Spybrary. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
- ^ "London Station". wwnorton.com. Retrieved September 21, 2026.