[5] Though he did not complete a formal education, Conroy worked at various jobs including: railroad shop apprentice (and eventual foreman), recording secretary for the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America union office, an auto factory worker, and construction.

[2] While he worked, he wrote, and it is said that in 1934, during a heat wave, Conroy moved his kitchen table outdoors beneath a shade tree where he created his second novel, A World to Win.

[3] Conroy and Bontemps also collaborated on several successful juvenile books based on folktales, including The Fast Sooner Hound (1942) and Slappy Hooper, The Wonderful Sign Painter (1946).

[2] He worked for 23 years as an editor of an encyclopedia sold through Sears stores and as a book reviewer for the Chicago Sun and the Daily Defender.

[8] In the United States, awareness of his work diminished after the 1930s for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty Conroy faced in trying to establish himself as a writer while staying loyal to his identity as a worker.