Downey was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and from an early age took an interest in reading. Although he was routinely encouraged by teachers to read books that would challenge him, Downey’s formative reading consisted almost exclusively of Marvel comic books, Choose Your Own Adventure novels, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, and the manuals and rulebooks of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing games, specifically Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and BattleTech.

Downey’s interest in games eventually served to direct the course of his education. He received his B.A. from McMaster University in 1991, and his M.A. a year later, writing his Masters’ Thesis on the chess problem in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. He earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Victoria in 1998, expanding on his previous graduate work in examining the development of the chess motif in the Victorian novel.

After teaching at both the Univeristy of Victoria and the University of British Columbia, where he won the Ian Fairclough Prize for Teaching in 2000, Downey left to pursue a B.Ed. in English and Mathematics Education at the University of Western Ontario’s Althouse College. While in the program, he submitted the manuscript for his first book, The Fifty Fatal Flaws of Essay Writing, which Althouse published in 2002. Since then, he has held a variety of teaching and administrative positions at public and private institutions, and has taught courses in Children’s Literature and Twenty-First Century Literacies in the graduate education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Downey’s interest in writing for children was motivated by his own formative reading experiences. He was introduced to Rubicon by David Boyd while the two were colleagues at Appleby College. Downey’s first book for Rubicon was Games for the award-winning Boldprint series. His most prolific year to date was 2009, with 47 books published across three different series.

Boldprint

• Games (2004)

• Images of war (2004)

• Famous Trials (2004)

• Medieval Warfare (2006), with Jayn Arnold

• Motorbikes (2006), with Mark Treleaven

• Suspense (2007)

Timeline

• Fire Mountain (2006), illustrated by Liam Thurston

• Rebel Prince (2006), illustrated by David Okum

• Gladiator (2006), illustrated by Andrew Barr

• Escape from East Berlin (2007), illustrated by Leo Lingas

• Ice Journey (2006), illustrated by Glenn Brucker

• Freedom Train (2007), illustrated by Leigh Dragoon

• The Great Siege (2007), illustrated by Mike Rooth

• Master Leonardo (2007), with Jayn Arnold, illustrated by Mike Rooth

• Miracle Men (2007), illustrated by Anthony Brennan

The 10

• Most Remarkable Writers (2007), with Jayn Arnold

• Deadliest Military Inventions (2007)

• Greatest Sports Showdowns (2007)

• Worst Sports Scandals (2007)

• Greatest Hockey Teams (2007), with Kirsten Tenebaum

• Coolest Ways to Fly (2007), with Sandie Cond

• Hottest Hollywood Cars (2007), with Maria Malara

• Most Extreme Jobs (2007)

• Most Significant Documents (2007)

• Most Unforgettable Moments in NASCAR (2007)

• Most Memorable TV Moments (2007)

• Smartest Animals (2007)

• Most Decisive Battles (2007)

Graphic Poetry

• Paul Revere's Ride (2009)

• The Eagle / The Kraken (2009)

• The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (2009)

• Mother to Son / Harlem Night Song (2009)

• Same Song / Maestro (2009)

• Colonel Fazackerley Butterworth Toast (2009)

• This is a Photograph of Me / Girl and Horse, 1928 (2009)

• The March of the Dead (2009)

• The Woman I Am in My Dreams / Now I See You (2009)

• Southbound on the Freeway / Water Picture (2009)

• The Cremation of Sam McGee (2009)

• Life Doesn't Frighten Me / Alone (2009)

• The Shark / Sea-Gulls (2009)

• The Choice / Song for an April Dusk (2009)

• Flight of the Roller Coaster / Lake of Bays (2009)

• The Circle Game (2009)

• What Do I Remember of the Evacuation? (2009)

• Oranges / Ode to Family Photographs (2009)

• I am a Canadian (2009)

• Hurricane / Childhood Tracks (2009)

• I Shall Wait and Wait (2009)

Boldprint Graphic Novels

• A Goblin's Tale (2009), illustrated by Andrew Barr

• Nemesis (2009), illustrated by Robert Deas

• Spirits of the Mountain (2009), illustrated by Zsolt Mato

• Ghost House (2009), with Jayn Arnold, illustrated by Scott Lincoln

• Snake Girl (2009), illustrated by Andrew Barr

• Final Voyage (2009), illustrated by John Lucas

Boldprint Graphic Readers

• Party Time (2009), illustrated by Franfou

• Pets Welcome (2009), illustrated by Zsolt Mato

• Hanging Ten (2009), illustrated by Pascal Campion

• Sir Henry and the Dragon (2009), illustrated by Jason MacKay

• The Sun (2009), illustrated by Daisy Chan

• Penguins on Parade (2009), illustrated by Zsolt Mato

• What's the Problem? (2009), illustrated by Stephen Daymond

• Shaping Up (2009), illustrated by Mike Rooth

• Hoop Shot (2009), illustrated by Michelle Draycott

• Fish Food (2009), illustrated by Bernard Joaquin

• The Legend of Wountie (2009), illustrated by Katie Cusak

• Whiz Kid (2009), illustrated by Miklos Weigert and Zsolt Mato

• Now You See Me (2009), illustrated by John Lucas

• Nature's Story (2009), illustrated by Ken Turner

• Gobble! Gobble! (2009), illustrated by Ron Sutton

• Westward Ho! (2009), illustrated by Hilary Jenkins

• The Gamers (2009), illustrated by Anthony Tan and Katrina Hao

• Built to Last (2009), illustrated by Bernard Joaquin

• Then and Now (2009), illustrated by Francesco Francavilla

• The Junkyard (2009), illustrated by Karen Roy

Other works

• The Fifty Fatal Flaws of Essay Writing (2002)

• The 10 Essential Ways to Teach Students with Inquiring Minds (2008)

• Legendary Tales (2010)

• Interface Vol 1.2 with Carolyn Craven, Lori Lisi, et al. (2010)

• Interface Vol 2.2 with Carolyn Craven, Lori Lisi, et al. (2010)

Downey's books have been part of series that have won the following awards: