An Armenian American, Saroyan wrote extensively about the Armenian immigrant life in California. Many of his stories and plays are set in his native Fresno. Some of his best-known works are The Time of Your Life, My Name Is Aram and My Heart's in the Highlands.
1939 yılında The Time of Your Life oyunuyla Pulitzer Ödülü'nü kazandı, ödülü reddetti.