NPR’s Arts & Culture Hub will welcome Dhanika Pineda on Oct. 7 as the Inaugural Petra Mayer Memorial Fellow. In this role, Dhanika will work on the Book of the Day podcast and Books We Love, two signature NPR editorial franchises spearheaded by Mayer, a former books editor of the arts desk who died suddenly in 2021. She was 46.

This fellowship, established by Petra’s parents, will support the Arts and Culture hub as we build on Petra’s legacy of sharing her love of literature with our audiences.

Dhanika will bring an abundance of smarts and experience to the team. With degrees in literary journalism and English from the University of California, Irvine, she has written for AAPI news outlets, blogged for We Need Diverse Books and reported for the Race and Culture Unit at ABC News.

“I’m honored to join NPR’s Arts and Culture Hub as the Inaugural Petra Mayer Memorial Fellow”, said Dhanika. “As a journalist and bookworm, I’m excited to contribute to the books team and hope to honor Petra Mayer’s memory by continuing the work she started in sharing important stories with the world. Through this fellowship, I’m looking forward to furthering my passion for diverse and accessible literature and hope to amplify stories that reflect and create cultural change.”

Petra first came to NPR in 1994 while still in college. She began working on the arts desk in 2012 and later served as NPR’s books editor for nearly a decade. She was a proud and passionate nerd who worked tirelessly to broaden our coverage, championing romance, comics, science fiction, and fantasy. Her superpower was connecting readers with books they would love.

Every day, Petra’s friends at the Arts & Culture Hub miss her good humor, love of Doctor Who, and—especially late in the afternoon—her exceptional baked goods. As we welcome Dhanika to the Arts & Culture Hub, we will channel Petra’s passion for book discovery, her irrepressible spirit, and love of NPR.

-Ciera Crawford, Yolanda Sangweni & Beth Donovan