In this special, completely student-led and hosted episode of Librarians with Lattes, student library ambassadors Navid and Daniel take the mic for a fascinating conversation with two UAlbany professors, Dr. Sean Rafferty and Dr. Christopher Wolff. Together, they dive into monsters, academic publishing, and teaching a monsters class, and more.

Grab your favorite beverage and settle in for a thoughtful, engaging discussion!

Music credit: BenSounds

Host Amanda Lowe, Outreach & Marketing Librarian at the University at Albany, sits down with horror authors Clay McLeod Chapman (Wake Up and Open Your Eyes) and Dennis Mahoney (Our Winter Monster) for a spine-tingling conversation straight out of this year’s Summer of Horror Book Club.

From the thrills and chills of the horror genre to the nuts-and-bolts of their writing processes, Clay and Dennis share insights into what makes a story truly terrifying. Of course, it’s not all blood and shadows. We also veer off into action figure nostalgia, debate hydration strategies (decaf coffee counts… right?), and laugh our way through the lighter side of horror storytelling.

If you’re a fan of scary stories, creative process deep-dives, or just want to hear two horror masters having fun with a librarian host, this episode is for you.

Learn more about our guests:

• Clay McLeod Chapman → https://claymcleodchapman.com/

• Dennis Mahoney → https://www.equinoxsociety.com/

Grab your (decaf?) coffee and settle in for some horror-filled fun!

Music credit: bensounds

Guess who finally hit “record” again? That’s right—Librarians with Lattes is back after a totally intentional year-long break (oops). Host Amanda Lowe returns, dusts off the mic, and sits down with returning favorite Melody Palmer and first-time guest Melissa McMullen, UAlbany’s Research Archivist. Recorded back in March 2025 (we swear we meant to publish it sooner), this episode dives into Melissa’s winding path to the archives, thoughts on AI, and all the delightful tangents in between. It’s caffeinated chaos in the best way—join us!

Music: bensounds

Check out the UAlbany Archives

Mentioned books:

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Cosumed by Aja Barber

The Shepherd King Duology by Rachel Gillig

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt