Books by Irving Warner
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Warner has been publishing his work since the 1970s. Numerous short stories first appeared in literary journals such as The Colorado Review, The Stand Magazine (U.K.), Karmic Runes, The Montana Review, and The Cimarron Review. Nick Jans, author of The Last Light Breaking and A Place Beyond, has said of his writing: "A taut, mature voice, distinctly Alaskan, authentic in detail."
Whether he is writing subtle glimpses of the people living in remote Alaskan wilderness to humorous wit, Warner captures the essence of Alaska. He writes short fiction, novels, and screenplays. See descriptions of his publications, read their reviews, locate places to purchase them, and find other useful information on these webpages.
One of his first works was written under the pseudonym of the Old Pathfinder, and the work, An Anthology of Alaskan Hot Air, was published in 1977 by THE KODIAK FISH WRAPPER AND LITTER BOX LINER, by the Fish Wrapper Press in Kodiak, Alaska. This collection of humorous stories was more like the pulp fiction of the Nineteenth century.
His first book was a short story collection, In Memory of Hawks and Other Stories from Alaska, which was published in 1998 by Jack Estes' Pleasure Boat Studio. This work is a collection of 27 short stories. One, "The Whale
," begins with: "When the whale came into the bay everyone sensed it was close to death, but for the first few days no one would say so. It hung beneath the gray water, a shadow, occasionally fracturing the surface with its nostrils to blow a thin watery plume. Fat gulls circled above it, eventually settling on on the water or nearby rocks. Through the long days and short nights, except for emerging to breathe, the whale lingered a few fathoms down, waiting." The story threads the whale's impacts on the people who lived seasonally in the village and worked in the saltery on the Bay. The stories are brooding at times, but always evocative of an Alaska that few know and fewer still have seen.
Warner then began working on a novel, and finished his first work which was a tragic ye
t funny work of fiction about an obese man's escape from a weight-loss institution and his evasion of people seeking to re-capture him as his billionaire mother, who he calls "the Salmon Queen" send out her minions to get him back to the institute. Wagner, Descending--The Wrath of the Salmon Queen was also published by Pleasure Boat Studio, in 2004.
In 2007, Warner delved into historical fiction, writing an exhaustingly researched work set in World War II and relating the story of people on Attu Island, at the tip of Alaska, which was invaded by the Japanese. The War Journal of Lila Ann Smith is told journal-style in the voice of the single Caucasian woman who lived there, a woman whose husband was killed during the invasion and who went to Japan with the native people. This work, also published by Jack Estes' Pleasure Boat Studio, was based on much research as well as interviews with many of the survivors of the 
invasion. From the Foreword: "I open this gate and invite you into the life and times of 44 real people on Attu Island, June 1942, all part of the historical record of World War Two. I've changed all the names in The War Journal of Lila Ann Smith, and I've altered some of the facts. But beyond this gate, the reader is visiting the spirit and times of the real story, and practically speaking, the events themselves, based on my own 25-year long research. I tell this story, but I cannot own it. No one can."
The War Journal of Lila Ann Smith has recently been made available in a Kindle edition. Visit Amazon.com and browse through the pages of this poignant and remarkable book, about which one reviewer writes: "Here is the heartbreaking story of the resilience and courage of one woman, and a segment of American History that few people know about. History buffs will especially relish this slice of America-at-war through the eyes of this spirited lady who earned the respect of the enemy who held her captive." 
In 2009, Warner's latest work was published by Pleasure Board Studio as Crossing the Water--The Alaska-Hawaii Trilogies, and is collection of short fiction. In March of 2010, ForeWord Magzine announced that Irving Warner's recent book, a collection of short stories titled "Crossing the Water: The Alaska-Hawaii Trilogies" was named a finalist in the magazine's 2009 Book of the Year Award for Short Stories. This work is also available for E-readers in a Kindle edition through Amazon.com.
Find all of Warner's writings at Amazon.com and other publishers of literature.