Born in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in Canada since the age of three, Wangersky was educated at Acadia University.
He published his debut short story collection, The Hour of Bad Decisions, in 2006.
The collection was named to the initial longlist for the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and was also a finalist for the Winterset Award, the Commonwealth Writers First Book Prize - Canada and the Caribbean, and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award.
His book Burning Down the House: Fighting Fires and Losing Myself, a non-fiction memoir of his 20 years as a volunteer firefighter, was released in Canada by Thomas Allen Publishers in March 2008.
His 2012 short story collection Whirl Away was a shortlisted nominee for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize,[4] and won the 2013 Thomas Head Raddall Award.