James Downey

Who is James Downey?

James Downey is a US author and rare book & document conservator. He is also known as an internet performance artist, who has organized two relatively high-profile stunts, "Paint the Moon" and "Nobel Prize for Jo". In addition, he is one of the principals behind the ballistics research project Ballistics by the Inch and a writer for Guns.com.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Downey graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa, and did graduate work in English Literature at the University of Iowa. While there he discovered the Iowa Center for the Book, where he learned bookbinding, papermaking and book conservation, launching his career as a book and paper conservator. While at Iowa he also took classes with the Iowa Writers' Workshop, which furthered his desire to write.