Jenny Downham (born 1964) is a British novelist and an ex-actor. She has published two books, Before I Die, the fictional account of the last few months of a sixteen-year-old girl who has been dying of leukeamia for four years. The book is told in the first person.
The book was short listed for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008 Carnegie Medal and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the 2008 Branford Boase Award.
The book follows the story of Tessa as it becomes apparent she will die. She has a list of things she wants to complete before her death, including drugs and crime, for example. It also follows the ups and downs of Tessa's parents' relationship and her friend Zoey. Furthermore Tessa falls in love with her neighbour Adam. As the book goes on, Tessa's thoughts are used to explore the nature of life.
Downham's second novel, You Against Me, was published in December 2010.[1] The book is powerful novel about family, loyalty, and the choices which we have to make.
In 1998, Downham played Anna, the Ralph's Wife in Basil.