(It’s okay. It’s pronounced “or-TEE-lay.”)

I’m the managing editor of Catapult magazine. Previously, I was the global publishing lead for BuzzFeed International and the founding editor of BuzzFeed Philippines. I’ve written for BuzzFeed Reader, Into, Self, Out, and Details, among others. I’m also a MacDowell Colony Fellow. I graduated from Vassar College, which means I now live in Brooklyn.

My first book is called The Groom Will Keep His Name. It’s a collection of essays about sex, power, and the model minority myth. It’s out from Bold Type Books, an imprint of Hachette, in June 2020. You can pre-order it here.

I’m represented by Ed Maxwell at Greenburger Associates.

Some writing:

I’m primarily an essayist. Here’s a piece on using Grindr as a real estate listing. Not entirely unrelated, here’s an account of what it’s like to start therapy. Two pieces inspired by Barthes: on A Lover’s Discourse and breaking up; and on Camera Lucida, my mother, and cancer. And two essays on tech: on the “Invisible Boyfriend” service; and another on relationships via Twitter.

I also do profiles. I like talking to Filipino Americans about how they navigate their identity within their profession and in the U.S. Here are profiles of Mia Alvar, author of In The Country, and of Stella Abrera, principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre.

Some press:

By some strange luck, I’ve been interviewed as opposed to doing the interviewing. I’ve spoken to the Philippine Star, the Manila Standard Today, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the FilAm, Balitang America, TEAM magazine (page 1 and 2), Speed magazine, and Capioca. I’ve also been on the Know Your Audience podcast, the Verge’s Extras podcast, and MEGA‘s list of LGBT Filipino influencers for the March 2015 issue.

Get in touch:

If you want to pitch me something for Catapult, send it to matt.ortile@catapult.co. For everything else, I’m at matthewortile@gmail.com. I’m also on Twitter and Instagram.