Luke Stoffel Wins Silver at the 38th IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards for How to Win One Million Dollars and Shit Glitter

Picaresque memoir about failure, ambition, and the myth of American success takes Silver from over 2,000 entries

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, May 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Luke Stoffel has won a Silver Medal at the 38th Annual IBPA Awards for his debut memoir, How to Win One Million Dollars and Shit Glitter, in the Neurodivergent Communities category. The award was presented May 15 at the Independent Book Publishers Association ceremony in Portland, Oregon.

Formerly the Benjamin Franklin Awards, the IBPA Awards are among the most prestigious honors in American independent publishing, recognizing excellence in editorial and design across more than 50 categories. Now in their 38th year, the competition drew over 2,000 entries nationwide.

The memoir is a picaresque ride through Reagan-era America, exploring failure, ambition, and the cost of chasing success in a world that promised us everything. What if the trickle-down prosperity they sold us was just a glitter-fueled lie? Growing up as a gay Catholic schoolboy in a tiny Mississippi River town, Stoffel spent his childhood plotting schemes and chasing dreams, from hacking McDonald's Monopoly to trying to outsmart the system at every turn. His journey took him from backstage on Broadway to Silicon Valley startups. The ride, chaotic, messy, and wildly imperfect, proved to be the real prize.

Publishers Weekly BookLife scored it 9.5 out of 10, calling it "a perceptive judgment of America's often-empty vision of success." Kirkus Reviews gave it a "Get It" designation: "a luminous tribute to the inestimable value of not quite getting what you want." Midwest Book Review named it a Reviewer's Choice, writing that "Catcher in the Rye and other coming-of-age stories must take a step back.”

"This book is my love letter to the dreamers, schemers, and misfits who refuse to stay within the lines society draws for them," Stoffel says. "It's also a critique of the sugar-coated lies we were sold, free pizzas for reading books, cereal-box sweepstakes, and hustle culture gone wild, that weren't about lifting us up but greasing the wheels of an economy that left most of us behind."
How to Win One Million Dollars and Shit Glitter is the first book in The Warboy Chronicles, a series spanning memoir and speculative fiction. Two new titles, The Third Person and Boy, Refracted, launch June 1, 2026.

Critics have lauded the memoir:

• “The combination of memoir with a perceptive judgment of America’s often-empty vision of success is powerful.” — Publisher’s Weekly / BookLife (Score: 9.5 out of 10!)

• “This is a raucously funny book, with raffish prose full of self-deprecating humor regarding the distance between exalted pretensions and awkward reality… The result is a luminous tribute to the inestimable value of not quite getting what you want.” — Kirkus Reviews (Verdict: Get it!)

• “Readers who may have thought Catcher in the Rye and other coming-of-age stories held wry humor along with insights will find these classics must take a step back for contemporary authors such as Luke Stoffel.” — Midwest Book Review (Reviewer’s Choice)

• “An exuberant life story written with humor, panache, and heart.” — Kirkus Reviews

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About the Author:

Luke Stoffel (b. 1978) Luke Stoffel is an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award-winning author, GLAAD-honored artist, and creative director working across publishing, technology, and visual art.
He is the author of a best-selling book series spanning memoir, SciFi, and choose-your-own-adventure. His debut earned praise from Kirkus Reviews and scored 9.5 out of 10 from Publishers Weekly BookLife. His Pop Art Tarot will be published by Rockpool Publishing in 2027.

His paintings and photography have appeared in The New York Times, Huffington Post, and on Bravo Television. His work has been commissioned by the Ralph Lauren family and the Hong Kong Ballet, and showcased by the American Foundation for AIDS Research and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Stoffel was creative director for Mozilla's Builders program and has directed campaigns for the U.S. Open, Coca-Cola, and Whole Foods. He speaks on AI and creative practice, and building a career by hacking systems that weren't designed to let you in.

Where to Buy

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4hC0zLu
Audible: https://adbl.co/40Cw9lx
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4i455CT
Ebook ISBN: 979-8-9917987-2-3
Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9917987-1-6
Hardcover ISBN: 979-8-9917987-4-7

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews: https://bit.ly/40ZOOrV
Publishers Weekly: https://bit.ly/3X5pKi1
Midwest Book Review: https://bit.ly/4bq2PUq
NPR Iowa Interview: https://bit.ly/4gz48kZ
Official Website: https://howtowinonemilliondollars.com
Contact: lucasstoffel@me.com

Lucas Stoffel
Author
lucasstoffel@me.com
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