NPR books editor Petra Mayer has died
November 14, 2021 6:01 PM Subscribe
NPR Books editor Petra Mayer died suddenly Saturday of a presumed pulmonary embolism.
Mayer was a proud nerd and was a driving force behind the NPR Books concierge (A Mefi fave) and this past summer's special series Summer SciFi & Fantasy Best of the Decade Poll (which also popped up on the Blue.)
NPR's Glen Wheldon on Twitter: "She was the best and rarest species of nerd, whose enthusiasm was eager and sincere and open and inviting. She wanted you to love the stuff she loved, and supplied you hard incontrovertible evidence to support her thesis. Jesus, she was the best of us. Fuck."
Petra Mayer's contributor page at NPR
A 2018 interview with Mayer from the Faces of NPR series
NPR's Glen Wheldon on Twitter: "She was the best and rarest species of nerd, whose enthusiasm was eager and sincere and open and inviting. She wanted you to love the stuff she loved, and supplied you hard incontrovertible evidence to support her thesis. Jesus, she was the best of us. Fuck."
Petra Mayer's contributor page at NPR
A 2018 interview with Mayer from the Faces of NPR series
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posted by socialjusticeworrier at 6:06 PM on November 14, 2021
posted by socialjusticeworrier at 6:06 PM on November 14, 2021
A link I missed - All Things Considered ran a tribute to Mayer this weekend.
I didn't have even a parasocial relationship with Mayer herself but I have long appreciated what she was doing at the NPR arts desk and I will miss her great contributions to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Way too young to lose her voice.
posted by Wretch729 at 6:07 PM on November 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
I didn't have even a parasocial relationship with Mayer herself but I have long appreciated what she was doing at the NPR arts desk and I will miss her great contributions to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. Way too young to lose her voice.
posted by Wretch729 at 6:07 PM on November 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
That SF list was really good stuff. Her work will be missed, may her memory be a blessing.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 6:09 PM on November 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 6:09 PM on November 14, 2021 [3 favorites]
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posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:20 PM on November 14, 2021
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:20 PM on November 14, 2021
There is a MetaTalk as well, she was a sporadic MeFite.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:25 PM on November 14, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:25 PM on November 14, 2021 [9 favorites]
🚀
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:26 PM on November 14, 2021
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:26 PM on November 14, 2021
She was a really fine human.
posted by jscalzi at 7:27 PM on November 14, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by jscalzi at 7:27 PM on November 14, 2021 [6 favorites]
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I really enjoyed her input on the NPR blogs. This is very sad.
posted by maryrussell at 7:35 PM on November 14, 2021
I really enjoyed her input on the NPR blogs. This is very sad.
posted by maryrussell at 7:35 PM on November 14, 2021
I heard about this this morning in a short announcement, and it was shocking. So young!
My heart goes out to her family and colleagues.
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posted by hippybear at 7:56 PM on November 14, 2021
My heart goes out to her family and colleagues.
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posted by hippybear at 7:56 PM on November 14, 2021
There's been such a complete outpouring of love for her on Twitter, coming from all sorts of people: not just authors and big-name on-air NPR people, but also former interns and book publicists and all sorts of people to whom she didn't have any professional obligation to be nice. You really just get the sense that she was a kind, generous, and fun person, as well as being a force for good in the culture.
I know there are people here who are grieving her, and you're all in my thoughts.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:08 PM on November 14, 2021 [4 favorites]
I know there are people here who are grieving her, and you're all in my thoughts.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:08 PM on November 14, 2021 [4 favorites]
I worked on the Concierge in 2019 and 2020, and got to exchange e-mails or Slack messages with Petra a few times during the process. Her enthusiasm always came through--when I asked to blurb The Raven Tower she sent me a note back just to gush about Ann Leckie's Ancillary series a bit. She'll be deeply missed.
posted by Four String Riot at 8:10 PM on November 14, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Four String Riot at 8:10 PM on November 14, 2021 [4 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:54 PM on November 14, 2021
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:54 PM on November 14, 2021
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We knew her from way way back and she was a good one. This is terrible news.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:57 PM on November 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
We knew her from way way back and she was a good one. This is terrible news.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:57 PM on November 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
I mostly know her from her appearances on Pop Culture Happy Hour, where she was always a wonderful guest panelist; enthusiastic, witty, insightful, delightful. One great episode with her (and also Tochi Onyebuchi and Amal El-Mohtar) is this one from August 26, intended as an introduction to sci-fi and fantasy in conjunction with her work on the top 50 SFF novel list mentioned above. Such a loss.
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posted by Superilla at 9:17 PM on November 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by Superilla at 9:17 PM on November 14, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by SisterHavana at 10:34 PM on November 14, 2021
posted by SisterHavana at 10:34 PM on November 14, 2021
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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 3:11 AM on November 15, 2021
posted by faceplantingcheetah at 3:11 AM on November 15, 2021
Petra was a friend from college. I can confirm all these lovely tributes, and I am so mad I'll never see her again. Death is a tyrant.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:41 AM on November 15, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:41 AM on November 15, 2021 [9 favorites]
Only love for her everywhere. So good to see.
I'm pretty angry at the universe right now, though.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:19 AM on November 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty angry at the universe right now, though.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:19 AM on November 15, 2021 [1 favorite]
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posted by egregious theorem at 8:55 AM on November 15, 2021
posted by egregious theorem at 8:55 AM on November 15, 2021
I'm so sorry to hear this. I was another fan of her appearances on Pop Culture Happy Hour.
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posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 11:59 AM on November 15, 2021
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posted by See you tomorrow, saguaro at 11:59 AM on November 15, 2021
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posted by carrioncomfort at 1:10 PM on November 15, 2021
posted by carrioncomfort at 1:10 PM on November 15, 2021
Emiko Tamagawa for WBUR: Remembering fabled book yeller Petra Mayer
(With Michel Martin, Linda Holmes and Amal El-Mohtar; audio plus transcript; no autoplay)
NPR Books editor Petra Mayer — who died unexpectedly on Saturday — was so much fun. Who can forget the time when her cat Godfrey interrupted just as host Robin Young was introducing her?Weekend All Things Considered remembers NPR books editor Petra Mayer
And who but Mayer would immediately send a picture of the culprit?
(With Michel Martin, Linda Holmes and Amal El-Mohtar; audio plus transcript; no autoplay)
True to form, fellow NPR editor Beth Novey says the two had planned brunch yesterday morning and that Petra had promised to bake something stupidly elaborate that she'd seen on "The Great British Bake Off." She never arrived.posted by Pallas Athena at 1:16 PM on November 15, 2021 [4 favorites]
from our own jscalzi:
This is one of those “wait, what?” deaths, in that Petra as I knew her was so absolutely full of life and energy that the idea all of that would come to a sudden stop is a little breath-taking.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:48 PM on November 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
This is one of those “wait, what?” deaths, in that Petra as I knew her was so absolutely full of life and energy that the idea all of that would come to a sudden stop is a little breath-taking.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:48 PM on November 15, 2021 [5 favorites]
L loved looking to her for guidance on what to read.
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:04 PM on November 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 3:04 PM on November 15, 2021 [2 favorites]
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posted by weathergal at 4:23 PM on November 15, 2021
posted by weathergal at 4:23 PM on November 15, 2021
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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:06 PM on November 15, 2021
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 7:06 PM on November 15, 2021
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posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:07 PM on November 15, 2021
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:07 PM on November 15, 2021
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There is a post on Smart Bitches Trashy Books too: My Wonderful Friend Petra Mayer.
posted by paduasoy at 11:36 AM on November 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
There is a post on Smart Bitches Trashy Books too: My Wonderful Friend Petra Mayer.
posted by paduasoy at 11:36 AM on November 16, 2021 [5 favorites]
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posted by but no cigar at 6:36 PM on November 16, 2021
posted by but no cigar at 6:36 PM on November 16, 2021
Obituary in the Washington Post
Readable image here for paywall issues
She said she read the opening sentence "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" and that to her, a kid in sweltering DC, the idea of a cold day in April seemed as fantastical as a world where it could be thirteen o'clock. (The 24-hour clock was not much in use in the US at that time outside the military.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:52 PM on November 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
Readable image here for paywall issues
Petra Elizabeth Mayer was born in Washington on Nov. 30, 1974. The year she turned 10 her father, noting the date, presented her with his old copy of George Orwell’s “1984.” It was the first work of science fiction or fantasy that she remembered reading.She told me that story a million times, so I can confirm it now. Her Dad handed her the book saying "I think you're ready for this." At age 10.
“I like to say it’s the book that made me a nerd,” Ms. Mayer reflected. “I was hooked,” she said, “and started reading all the dystopia I could get my hands on.”
She said she read the opening sentence "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen" and that to her, a kid in sweltering DC, the idea of a cold day in April seemed as fantastical as a world where it could be thirteen o'clock. (The 24-hour clock was not much in use in the US at that time outside the military.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:52 PM on November 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
Not to threadsit, but: A tribute episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour aired today, and the page also has links to her various NPR pieces.
From Linda Holmes:
From Linda Holmes:
Petra was a treasured member of NPR's Culture desk, a funny and lovely person, and a great advocate for books both literary and not, including the romance and speculative fiction titles she passionately promoted for coverage at NPR. She was indispensable in developing some of the projects that have been so critical to the growth of NPR Books, especially the Book Concierge and the yearly summer books poll.posted by Pallas Athena at 5:00 PM on November 17, 2021 [6 favorites]
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posted by Windopaene at 6:06 PM on November 14, 2021 [1 favorite]