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.
-
Our famous Summer Reader Poll lurches to life, dripping grave-dirt and bits of glowing green, ready to hear all about your favorite horror novels and stories. What sends a shiver down your spine?
-
The Swedish Academy — the body that awards Nobel Prizes — has announced that the literature prize will not be given this year. The decision follows a spate of infighting and allegations of sexual misconduct against the husband of an Academy member.
-
Author Ursula K. Le Guin has died at age 88. She was a prolific writer of science fiction and fantasy who brought feminism into her work and raised the genres into literature.
-
The Book Concierge is back and bigger than ever! Explore more than 350 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics. -
Philip Pullman returns to the world of his beloved Dark Materials trilogy in The Book of Dust. We have an exclusive first peek at young protagonist Malcolm, his canoe, and the day his life changes.
-
Faith "Zephyr" Herbert is one of Valiant Comics breakout stars. The plus-sized superheroine fights crime in the streets of Los Angeles — and now, she's up against an AI trying to damage time itself. -
What's the best way to get people reading comics? Hook 'em young. And comics for early readers are booming — even big publishers like DC, famed for grim and gritty, are getting in on the action.
-
The 13th Doctor in the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who will be played by Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to take the role. The move is long overdue for some and an outrage for others.
-
In a list of 100 favorite comics and graphic novels, inevitably some people's favorites will get left out — some because they don't stand the test of time, some because there's just no room.
-
We asked readers to name their favorite comics and graphic novels, and we got thousands of answers. Now, with the help of our expert panel, we've curated a list to keep you flipping pages all summer.