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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Shortages of paper and cardboard — plus issues with warehouse and shipping capacity — are causing havoc in the publishing industry right before the holiday shopping season kicks into gear.
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January 1st is Public Domain Day. That's the day creative works over a certain age enter the public domain.
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People looking for holiday gift ideas have a resource: the NPR Book Concierge. The interactive book finder has hundreds of titles selected by NPR critics and staff.
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This year's National Book Awards — announced in a first-ever virtual streaming ceremony — went mostly to writers of color, as the foundation that gives the prizes vowed to be more inclusive.
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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 fable Animal 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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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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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. -
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. -
Chevalier's new novel follows one of the generation of "surplus women," who lost their men in World War I and had to make new lives for themselves — sometimes outside the bounds of convention. -
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.
