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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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.
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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. -
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. -
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 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.
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NPR launches its 2017 Book Concierge on Tuesday, pulling together a year's worth of favorite reads from staff and critics. NPR Books editor Petra Mayer talks about some of this year's selections.
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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.
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Author Paula Hawkins was down on her luck when her 2015 book The Girl on the Train became a smash hit. Now she's grappling with success and preparing to launch her followup, Into the Water.
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NPR Books editor Petra Mayer was in the Manhattan neighborhood on Saturday when she saw what looked like a pressure cooker on the sidewalk. Suddenly she found herself at the heart of the night's news.
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The house Alan Moore was born in was torn down in 1969 — along with most of the rest of his neighborhood. But in his new novel, Jerusalem, the legendary comics creator brings it all back to life.
