Laurie Clancy was educated by the Christian Brothers and at the University of Melbourne. He subsequently taught at La Trobe University from 1967 until 1996.
Clancy authored numerous study guides and other educational material, including critical studies of Xavier Herbert and Vladimir Nabokov, and A Reader's Guide to Australian Fiction (1992). Clancy's first novel, A Collapsible Man (1975), won the National Book Council Award. He later published several collections of short stories and more novels, consolidating his literary reputation with further awards.
After leaving academic life in 1996, Clancy spent time as a writer-in-residence at several institutions and worked as a freelance reviewer.