He later moved to New York where he made his publishing debut at St. Martin's Press, after working as an editorial assistant.

Various international media outlets have acknowledged him as a savvy pop culture commentator, including Pitchfork, El País and Instinct magazine.

[3] Matthew Rettenmund made his publishing debut with St. Martin's Press' book Encyclopedia Madonnica (1995), based in the life and work of American singer Madonna, obtaining solid reviews and sales as well,[6][7] followed by his novel Boy Culture the same year,[6] celebrated upon its release by reviewers as an "example of a new and more sharply observant class of gay fiction".

[8] The lattermost work also inspired the name of the blog Boyculture.com which he founded,[6][9] and was later adapted into a film in 2006, and a spin-off web series in early 2020s.

[6] Media outlets such as El País, Pitchfork, Xtra and Instinct magazines have acknowledged him as a savvy pop culture commentator.