Petra Mayer
Petra Mayer died on November 13, 2021. She has been remembered by friends and colleagues, including all of us at NPR. The Petra Mayer Memorial Fund for Internships has been created in her honor.
Petra Mayer (she/her) was an editor (and the resident nerd) at NPR Books, focusing on fiction, and particularly genre fiction. She brought to the job passion, speed-reading skills, and a truly impressive collection of Doctor Who doodads. You could also hear her on the air and on the occasional episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour.
Prior to her role at NPR Books, she was an associate producer and director for All Things Considered on the weekends. She handled all of the show's books coverage, and she was also the person to ask if you wanted to know how much snow falls outside NPR's Washington headquarters on a Saturday, how to belly dance, or what pro wrestling looks like up close and personal.
Mayer originally came to NPR as an engineering assistant in 1994, while still attending Amherst College. After three years spending summers honing her soldering skills in the maintenance shop, she made the jump to Boston's WBUR as a newswriter in 1997. Mayer returned to NPR in 2000 after a roundabout journey that included a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a two-year stint as an audio archivist and producer at the Prague headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She still knows how to solder.
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Finalists for the National Book Award were announced today in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, literature in translation, and young people's literature. Winners are announced Nov. 18. -
Aiden Thomas' new YA novel, Cemetery Boys,follows a queer, trans Latinx teenager as he fights to prove himself to his conservative family — and deal with the troublesome ghost he's summoned. -
This year we had kids and caregivers in mind when we chose the genre for our summer poll. So here are 100 favorite kids' books, picked by readers and expert judges, to while away the hours at home. -
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of science-fiction great Ray Bradbury. We examine his legacy and the authors he influenced.
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George Orwell's anti-tyranny fableAnimal Farm turns 75 this week. We examine what Orwell was thinking when he wrote it, why it's lasted so long and what we can learn from it today.
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Lauren Beukes' new novel is set in a near future where a virus has killed off most of the men on Earth, and one woman is racing to free her young, immune son from the government and get him to safety. -
Comic-Con began Wednesday. It's virtual this year due to the pandemic. Instead of waiting in endless lines in San Diego, fans will be able to watch panel discussions online.
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These are troubled times and the high-concept fashion house is reflecting that in its fall 2020 collection — three mini-wardrobes embodying anger, confusion and, finally, love and hope. -
Anaya's 1972 classic Bless Me, Ultima — about a young Mexican American boy and his curandera mentor in New Mexico in the 1940s — inspired a generation of Chicano writers. -
John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan — one of the Big Five book publishing houses — has stepped back from day-to-day operations, after five employees organized an industry-wide protest against racism.
