NPR Book Editor Petra Mayer dies at 46

Petra Mayer, 46, a three-year member of the National Press Club who was books editor for National Public Radio, died Saturday, Nov. 13, at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. The cause of death was thought to be a pulmonary embolism.

Mayer's colleagues posted a tribute to her on the NPR website. Her first stint at NPR was in 1994 as an engineering assistant while a student at Amherst College. She earned a master's degree in journalism at Columbia University and worked as an audio engineer for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty before resuming her career at NPR in 2000.