Irby's work centers on the quirks of Florida's history, the interplay of natural beauty and rampant corruption and violence that marked the Sunshine State in the 1920s.
In early 2012, he released "The Van", a novel following the life of a VW Bus.
He taught at Eckerd College, a private liberal arts school located in St. Petersburg, Florida.
He then set about seeing the world, living in St. Croix, Italy, Mexico, and several major U.S. cities.
He came of age in Key West, Florida, where he worked many odd jobs but found his voice as a writer amid the human debris of that island city.