Daniel Silva (novelist) explained

Daniel Silva
Birth Place:Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation:Novelist, journalist
Alma Mater:California State University, Fresno (BA)
Period:1996–present
Genre:Spy fiction
Spouse:Jamie Gangel (1987–present)
Children:2
Years Active:1984–present
Portaldisp:y

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

Early life

Silva was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[1] 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).[2]

Career

Journalist

Silva began his writing career as a journalist with a temporary position at UPI in 1984.[3] 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.[4] In 1997 Silva left CNN to pursue writing full-time.

Since then Silva has written 26 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.[5] [6] 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 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.[3]

Adaptations

In 2007, Universal Pictures made an offer to option the rights to Silva's Gabriel Allon series, starting with The Messenger (2005). In 2011, it was announced that Jeff Zucker would serve as producer, though the deal was never signed.[7] [8] 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.[9]

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.[3]

Silva and his wife have twin children. Silva frequently takes his children on research trips for his books.[3] [10]

Honors

Bibliography

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[13] 12[14]
Michael Osbourne 2 The Marching Season 1999 0375500898 5[15] 17[16]
1 The Kill Artist 2000 0375500901 1 12
Gabriel Allon 2 The English Assassin 2002 0399148515 4[17] 7[18]
Gabriel Allon 3 The Confessor 2003 0399149724 5[19] 5[20]
Gabriel Allon 4 A Death in Vienna 2004 0399151435 5[21] 5[22] Nominated for 2005 Barry Award for Best Thriller
Gabriel Allon 5 Prince of Fire 2005 0399152431 4[23] 5[24]
Gabriel Allon 6 The Messenger 2006 978-0399153358 6[25] 3[26] Winner of 2007 Barry Award for Best Thriller
Gabriel Allon 7 The Secret Servant 2007 978-0399154225 6[27] 2[28]
Gabriel Allon 8 Moscow Rules 2008 978-0399155017 6[29] 1[30]
Gabriel Allon 9 The Defector 2009 978-0399155680 4[31] 1[32]
Gabriel Allon 10 The Rembrandt Affair 2010 978-0399156588 6[33] 1[34] Nominated for 2011 Barry Award for Best Thriller
Gabriel Allon 11 Portrait of a Spy 2011 978-0062072184 6[35] 2[36]
Gabriel Allon 12 The Fallen Angel 2012 978-0062073129 6[37] 1[38] Winner of 2013 Barry Award for Best Thriller
Gabriel Allon 13 The English Girl 2013 978-0062073167 7[39] 1[40]
Gabriel Allon 14 The Heist 2014 978-0062320056 6[41] 1[42]
Gabriel Allon 15 The English Spy 2015 978-0062320056 7[43] 1[44]
Gabriel Allon 16 The Black Widow 2016 978-0062320223 7[45] 1[46]
Gabriel Allon 17 House of Spies 2017 978-0062354341 6[47] 1[48]
Gabriel Allon 18 The Other Woman 2018 978-0062834829 5[49] 1[50]
Gabriel Allon 19 The New Girl 2019 978-00628348365[51] 1[52]
Gabriel Allon 20 The Order 2020 978-14607097646[53] 1[54]
Gabriel Allon 21 The Cellist 2021978-00632119885[55] 1[56]
Gabriel Allon 22 Portrait of an Unknown Woman[57] [58] 2022978-006-28348503[59] 3[60]
Gabriel Allon 23 The Collector[61] 2023978-0062834874
Gabriel Allon 24 A Death in Cornwall[62] [63] 2024 978-0062834874 1[64]
Weeks on The New York Times best seller listHighest level on The New York Times best seller list

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Youtube (SALT Talks). . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211228142234/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayfEjnQYDzM&t=1887s . December 28, 2021 .
  2. Pash. Barbara. Book Talk: Daniel Silva. Hadassah Magazine. September 2014. July 24, 2015.
  3. News: Moscow Rules spy novelist Daniel Silva (interview transcript of Hugh Hewitt Show) . . Hewitt . Hugh . July 29, 2008 . August 7, 2017.
  4. News: BEST SELLERS: February 23, 1997. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. February 23, 1997.
  5. News: BEST SELLERS: January 28, 2001. November 22, 2012. The New York Times. January 28, 2002.
  6. News: BEST SELLERS: April 7, 2002. August 13, 2012. The New York Times. April 7, 2002.
  7. News: Kilday. Gregg. April 1, 2011. Jeff Zucker to Produce Movie Based on Daniel Silva's Spy Series. The Hollywood Reporter. August 5, 2012.
  8. Web site: FAQ. Daniel Silva. July 26, 2015.
  9. News: Otterson. Joe. May 15, 2017. MGM TV Acquires Rights to Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon Spy Novels. Variety Media, LLC. May 21, 2017.
  10. Web site: Joyella. Mark. CNN Hires Jamie Gangel as Special Correspondent. TVNewser. August 24, 2015 . August 27, 2015.
  11. Web site: Barry Awards . Deadly Pleasures . June 24, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120423032903/http://www.deadlypleasures.com/barry.html . April 23, 2012 . mdy-all .
  12. Web site: Daniel Silva. HarperCollins Publishers. August 5, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130609113317/http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/38041/Daniel_Silva/index.aspx. June 9, 2013. dead.
  13. News: BEST SELLERS: April 19, 1998. July 27, 2015. The New York Times. April 19, 1998.
  14. News: BEST SELLERS: April 12, 1998. July 27, 2015. The New York Times. April 12, 1998.
  15. News: Best Sellers Plus. July 27, 2015. The New York Times. April 11, 1999.
  16. News: Best Sellers Plus. July 27, 2015. The New York Times. April 4, 1999.
  17. News: BEST SELLERS: April 14, 2002. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. April 14, 2002.
  18. News: BEST SELLERS: March 24, 2002. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. March 24, 2002.
  19. News: BEST SELLERS: April 13, 2003. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. April 13, 2003.
  20. News: BEST SELLERS: March 16, 2003. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. March 16, 2003.
  21. News: BEST SELLERS: April 11, 2004. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. April 11, 2004.
  22. News: BEST SELLERS: March 14, 2004. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. March 14, 2004.
  23. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. April 3, 2005. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  24. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. March 13, 2005. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  25. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. September 17, 2006. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  26. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. August 13, 2006. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  27. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. September 16, 2007. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  28. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. August 8, 2007. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  29. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. September 14, 2008. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  30. Web site: The New York Times Best Seller list. August 10, 2008. Hawes Publications. July 26, 2015.
  31. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. August 30, 2009.
  32. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. August 9, 2009.
  33. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. September 10, 2010.
  34. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. August 8, 2010.
  35. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. September 11, 2011.
  36. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. August 7, 2011.
  37. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. September 9, 2012.
  38. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. September 9, 2012.
  39. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. September 9, 2013.
  40. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. August 13, 2013.
  41. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. September 7, 2014.
  42. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. August 10, 2014.
  43. News: Best Sellers. November 3, 2015. The New York Times. September 6, 2015.
  44. News: Best Sellers. July 26, 2015. The New York Times. July 19, 2015.
  45. News: Best Sellers. 12 September 2016. The New York Times. September 11, 2016.
  46. News: Best Sellers. 23 July 2016. The New York Times. July 31, 2016.
  47. News: Best Sellers. 11 September 2017. The New York Times. September 3, 2017.
  48. News: Best Sellers. 20 July 2017. The New York Times. July 30, 2017.
  49. News: Best Sellers. 5 September 2019. The New York Times. 2 September 2018.
  50. News: The New York Times Best Sellers . 26 July 2018 . The New York Times . August 5, 2018.
  51. News: Best Sellers. 5 September 2019. The New York Times. 1 September 2019.
  52. News: Best Sellers. 5 September 2019. The New York Times. 4 August 2019.
  53. News: Best Sellers. 17 September 2020. The New York Times. 6 September 2020.
  54. News: Best Sellers. 23 July 2020. The New York Times. 2 August 2020.
  55. News: Best Sellers. The New York Times . 2022-01-03 . en-US.
  56. News: Best Sellers . 23 July 2021 . The New York Times . 1 August 2021.
  57. Web site: Daniel . Silva . Portrait of an Unknown Woman . Daniel Silva . danielsilvabooks . 29 December 2021.
  58. Web site: Portrait of an Unknown Woman . 2022-01-03 . HarperCollins . en.
  59. News: Best Sellers. 10 January 2023 . The New York Times . 21 August 2022.
  60. News: Best Sellers. 10 January 2023 . The New York Times . 7 August 2022.
  61. Web site: The Collector . 2023-06-09 . Daniel Silva . en-US.
  62. Web site: A Death in Cornwall .
  63. Web site: Adams . Cody . 2024-08-06 . I Love to Read: Daniel Silva talks about new book . 2024-08-07 . Indianapolis News Indiana Weather Indiana Traffic WISH-TV . en-US.
  64. Web site: Combined Print & E-Book Fiction - Best Sellers - Books - The New York Times . 2024-07-18 . The New York Times . en-US.