It's official: Dave Portnoy is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. "Cancel Me If You Can," his memoir tracing the Barstool Sports origin story and every fight he's picked along the way, landed at the top of the list this week, and Barstool made sure everyone knew it the second it happened.
The irony here is thick. Portnoy has spent years torching the New York Times as an institution he can't stand, and now that same paper's list is the thing validating his book. He's leaned into that tension publicly rather than run from it, treating the #1 spot as both a trophy and a punchline aimed at his critics.
Naturally, Portnoy didn't just sit on the news. He hit Mitchell's Book Corner on Nantucket and signed a stack of copies, framing it as a milestone moment now that his name carries the bestseller title.
If you are on Nantucket I just went into Mitchells book store and ripped about 40 signatures. My first signed books as the #1 Times best selling author https://t.co/Tc3NA5eRSP
He also used the bestseller status as ammo against anyone who dared correct his grammar online, firing back at commenters who pointed out typos in his posts. His logic: once you're the #1 New York Times bestselling author, spelling nitpicks don't land the same way.
Meanwhile the book is apparently flying off shelves in real airports, not just Portnoy's own social feed. One post showed the last copy sitting on a shelf at a Barbara's Bookstore near gate C16 at O'Hare, with a plea for travelers to grab it before it's gone.
Only one copy left of Cancel Me If You Can. Run don’t walk to Barbara’s Bookstore near gate C16 at ORD! https://t.co/Fk8AuEk6if
The press tour has since gone mainstream. Portnoy sat down for a CBS Saturday Morning interview to talk through the memoir, a notable step up in venue for a guy whose entire career has been built on being too polarizing for traditional media to touch.
https://t.co/3aWyqxjdgA
Love him or hate him, the numbers don't care about the discourse. A #1 New York Times bestseller is a #1 New York Times bestseller, and Portnoy is milking every bit of the moment, from small-town bookstore signings to national morning TV. Expect the press run to keep rolling as long as the book stays on the list.