Rex Ogle

Rex Ogle
Rex Ogle at the 2024 Texas Book Festival
OccupationAuthor
Writing career
Notable worksFree Lunch, Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel, Road Home, Absent
Notable awards
Websiterexogle.com

Rex Ogle (born 1979 or 1980) is an American author and editor who has published more than 100 books, including those written under various pseudonyms, such as Rey Terciero, Trey King, and Honest Lee. In addition to writing and editing for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, Ogle has written a number of graphic novels and memoirs, including Free Lunch.

Biography

Ogle was born and raised in Texas with his mother and younger brother, as well as his mother's boyfriend and later his stepfather. He experienced poverty and domestic violence as a child, which he discusses in his memoir Free Lunch. In the book, he also discusses his lifelong experiences with depression, anxiety and panic attacks.

At age 18, Ogle came out to his parents and was immediately kicked out of his family home, after which he moved to New Orleans because he thought, "If I’m going to be homeless, I might as well be homeless somewhere cool." After a short while, he moved in with his grandmother, then eventually moved to New York City, where he interned with Marvel Comics.

In addition to Marvel, Ogle has served as editor with DC Comics, Scholastic, and Little, Brown Young Readers. While editing with Little, Brown Young Readers, he worked with Neil Patrick Harris on his debut children's book, The Magic Misfits.

As of 2020, Ogle lived in Los Angeles with his husband.

Awards and honors

Ogle received a Michael L. Printz Award Honor and a Stonewall Book Award Honor for his third memoir, Road Home (2024). His debut memoir, Free Lunch (2019), was the winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

Six of Ogle's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Free Lunch, Punching Bag (2021), Abuela, Don't Forget Me (2022), Road Home, Cara de Pizza (Pizza Face) (2025), and Fruitcake (2026).

Ogle's books have regularly landed on Best of Year lists. Road Home was named to best book lists by Amazon, Chicago Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book Magazine, and School Library Journal. In 2019, the Chicago Public Library and Kirkus Reviews named Free Lunch one of the best middle grade children's books of 2019. In 2021, the New York Public Library named Punching Bag one of the year's "Top 10 Books for Teens". In 2022, School Library Journal included Abuela, Don't Forget Me on their list of the year's best poetry books.

Awards for Ogle's writing
Year Title Award/Honor Result Ref.
2019 Free Lunch Cybils Award for Middle Grade Nonfiction Finalist
2020 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Winner
In the Margins Award Top 10
2021 Punching Bag Cybils Award for Senior High Nonfiction Winner
2022 Free Lunch Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee
2023 Abuela, Don't Forget Me Reading the West Book Award for Young Adult/Teen Winner
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
2024 Northranger GLAAD Media Award Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology Nominee
2025 Road Home Michael L. Printz Award Honor
Stonewall Book Award Honor

Selected publications

Anthology contributions

  • "Colors of June" in Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers, edited by Rose Brock (2022)

Comics

Dates and other contributors (e.g., co-authors and illustrators) have not been provided below due to the on-going and team-based nature of comic book writing.

  • All New X-Men
  • The Conjuring: The Lover
  • DC Pride 2023 (anthology)
  • DC Universe Holiday Special
  • Death of Wolverine: Life After Logan
  • Justice League of America
  • Strange Love Adventures
  • Superman: Red and Blue
  • Teen Titans: The Hunt for Raven
  • The World of Flashpoint

Fiction books

Standalone novels

  • Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Little Women, illustrated by Bre Indigo, original text by Louisa May Alcott (as Rey Terceiro, 2019)
  • Blink, illustrated by Edú (2019)
  • Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms, illustrated by Megan Kearney (as Rey Terceiro, 2022)
  • The Darkness We Brought Back, cowritten with Alex Segura, illustrated by Joe Eisma, colored by Manuel Puppo, and lettered by Taylor Esposito (2023)
  • Northranger, illustrated by Bre Indigo (as Rey Terceiro, 2023)
  • Dan of Green Gables, illustrated by Claudia Aguirre, original text by L. M. Montgomery (as Rey Terceiro, exp. 2025)
  • When We Ride, a novel in verse (2025)
  • Absent, illustrated by LJ-Baptiste (2026)

Classroom 13 series

The Classroom 13 books were published under the pseudonym Honest Lee. They were co-written with Matthew J. Gilbert and illustrated by Joëlle Dreidemy.

  1. The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13 (2017)
  2. The Disastrous Magical Wishes of Classroom 13 (2017)
  3. The Fantastic and Terrible Fame of Classroom 13 (2017)
  4. The Happy and Heinous Halloween of Classroom 13 (2018)
  5. The Rude and Ridiculous Royals of Classroom 13 (2018)
  6. The Super Awful Superheroes of Classroom 13 (2018)

The Supernatural Society series

  1. The Supernatural Society (2022)
  2. Curse of the Werewolves (2022)
  3. Rise of the Undead (2023)

Nonfiction books

  • Free Lunch (2019)
  • Punching Bag (2021)
  • Abuela, Don't Forget Me (2022)
  • Road Home (2024)

Four Eyes series

  • Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel, illustrated by Dave Valeza (2023)
  • Pizza Face: A Graphic Novel, illustrated by Dave Valeza (2024)
  • ’’Fruitcake: A Graphic Novel’’, illustrated by Dave Valeza (2026)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ogle, Rex (June 29, 2018). "The Day My Dad Kicked Me Out For Being Gay Changed My Life Forever". HuffPost. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Weiss, Josh (March 12, 2019). "Former DC Editor, Rex Ogle, On Capturing Mental Illness In Creator-Owned 'BLINK'". Forbes. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  3. ↑ Etchison, Whitney (February 24, 2020). "2020 Nonfiction Award Winner: An Interview with Rex Ogle on Free Lunch". The Hub. Young Adult Library Services Association. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Klein, Cheryl E. (April 20, 2023). "Q & A with Rex Ogle". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Ogle, Rex (2019). Free Lunch. W. W. Norton. ISBN 9781324003601.
  6. 1 2 3 "Rex Ogle's Free Lunch". Shelf Awareness. September 10, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ "About the Author". Rex Ogle. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Milliot, Jim (March 16, 2015). "Little, Brown in Deal with Lego". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ Lodge, Sally (November 21, 2017). "Actor Neil Patrick Harris Assumes New Role of Children's Author". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ "An Interview with Rex Ogle". ALSC Blog. November 7, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Road Home by Rex Ogle". W. W. Norton & Company. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  12. ↑ "2020 Nonfiction Award". YALSA. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Free Lunch by Rex Ogle". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Punching Bag by Rex Ogle". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Abuela, Don't Forget Me by Rex Ogle". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Road Home by Rex Ogle". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Cara de Pizza (Pizza Face) by Rex Ogle". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Fruitcake: A Graphic Novel (Four Eyes #3) by Rex Ogle". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Road Home by Rex Ogle". W. W. Norton & Company. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Best Informational Books for Older Readers of 2019". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Best of 2019". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  22. ↑ Lobash, Lynn (November 23, 2021). "Introducing NYPL's Best Books of 2021". The New York Public Library. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  23. ↑ Simmons, Florence (November 21, 2022). "SLJ Best Poetry 2022". School Library Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  24. ↑ "2019 Cybils Finalists". Children's and Young Adult Book Lover's Literary Awards. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  26. ↑ Kantor, Emma; Roback, Diane (January 27, 2020). "Craft, Kadir, King Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  27. ↑ "2020 Youth Media Awards". School Library Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  28. ↑ Parrott, Kiera (February 12, 2020). ""In the Margins" Committee Announces 2020 Book Awards Honoring Marginalized & BIPOC Youth". School Library Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  29. ↑ "2021 Cybils Winners". Children's and Young Adult Book Lover's Literary Awards. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Here are the Winners of the 2021 Cybils Awards!". BOOK RIOT. February 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  31. ↑ "2022 Master List Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Illinois Children's Choice Award" (PDF). Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Awards: Reading the West, Women's Fiction Winners". Shelf Awareness. June 15, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  33. ↑ Jamison, Carla (December 8, 2022). "YALSA Announces 2023 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award finalists". American Library Association. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  34. ↑ Roback, Diane; Kantor, Emma; Jones, Iyana (January 30, 2023). "Luqman-Dawson, Salati, and Tahir Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz Awards". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  35. ↑ "YALSA Nonfiction Award Finalists in Conversation with SLJ". School Library Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  36. ↑ "GLAAD ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR THE 35th ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS | GLAAD". glaad.org. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  37. ↑ "American Library Association announces 2025 Youth Media Award winners". American Library Association. January 27, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  38. ↑ "Stonewall Book Awards List". ALA Rainbow Roundtable. July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  39. ↑ Drury, Sharareh (April 23, 2021). "DC Launching Horror Imprint With 'The Conjuring' Limited Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  40. ↑ Canfield, David (March 6, 2018). "'Little Women' to become multicultural graphic novel for 150th anniversary". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  41. ↑ National Council of Teachers of English; School Library Journal (May 12, 2022). "Beth Doesn't Die in This One: 11 Companion Titles that Remix 'Little Women'". School Library Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  42. ↑ Kantor, Emma (September 1, 2022). "Kindred Spirits: Children's Authors Reimagine 'Anne of Green Gables'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  43. ↑ Rascoe, Ayesha (April 6, 2025). "Rex Ogle discusses his novel-in-verse 'When We Ride' and writing about teenagers". NPR: Weekend Edition. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  44. ↑ "Monsters, Myths, Magic, and Mad Science: PW Talks with Rex Ogle". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 1, 2023.

Media related to Rex Ogle at Wikimedia Commons