Petra Mayer
Petra Mayer (she/her) is an editor (and the resident nerd) at NPR Books, focusing on fiction, and particularly genre fiction. She brings to the job passion, speed-reading skills, and a truly impressive collection of Doctor Who doodads. You can also hear her on the air and on the occasional episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour.
Previously, 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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The victory gardens of the 1940s helped people contribute to the war effort from the safety of home. 75 years later, vegetable gardens are having a resurgence, for similiar reasons. -
Tomie DePaola died Monday following a fall. Among his classics is the Caldecott winner Strega Nona, which was a tale of a witch, her assistant and a magic pot.
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Comedian, author and filmmaker Terry Jones has died at the age of 77 after suffering from dementia. As part of Monty Python, he was known for his drag characters and for co-writing the "Spam" sketch. -
The NPR 2019 Book Concierge is here! It features more than 350 recommendations from NPR staffers and trusted critics. -
In this recording, exclusive to NPR, Atwood returns to the world of The Handmaid's Tale, reading from her long-awaited sequel. Some 15 years after the first book, it introduces a few new voices. -
50 years ago, a bunch of teenaged comics fans got together to plan a convention, and what started with 300 people in a hotel basement became the pop culture juggernaut known as San Diego Comic Con. -
San Diego Comic-Con kicked off Thursday, with more than 130,000 attendees expected. Big draws of the day were Lin-Manuel Miranda and Arnold Schwarzenegger — and a surprise appearance from Tom Cruise. -
Judith Krantz, queen of the 'sex and shopping' novel, has died at 91. Beginning with Scruples in 1978, she sold millions of books with her signature mix of high fashion, hot sex and female ambition.
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ElfQuest is a comics industry institution — this saga of, yes, elves on a quest has been running since 1978. But now, creators Wendy and Richard Pini have brought the quest to an end. -
The Association for Library Service to Children has voted to rename its Laura Ingalls Wilder award for children's literature, after complaints about Wilder's portrayal of Native Americans.
