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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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. -
We thought you might need a laugh right about now, so this year's summer reader poll celebrates all the books (and one short story, and a few uncategorizable gems) that make you laugh out loud. -
Dylan Meconis' new graphic novel is set on a mysterious island off the coast of a country that's not quite Tudor England. It's an alternate history, loosely based on the youth of Queen Elizabeth I. -
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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City planner and Byzantine historian Arkady Martine puts her academic experience to work in a new novel about an ambassador from a small space station who comes to the court of a devouring empire.
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Sure, it's great to celebrate love, but why not escape all the relationship pressures, buy yourself some chocolate and make a date with a good romance novel? Here are five our our all-time favorites. -
Legend says that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, England will fall. Luckily, ravenmaster Chris Skaife is there to care for them, and he's got a new book about these extraordinary birds.