October is a notoriously busy time for Trinity students, but two upcoming guest speakers are definitely worth making time for this month. Graphic novelist Dylan Meconis and music critic Scott Cantrell have been scheduled to  give free public lectures on campus through the Stieren Arts Enrichment Series, with the former having already spoken on Oct. 4.

Meconis started out in the fields of history and communication and has since made a name for herself in writing, design and cartooning. Her graphic novels titled “Outfoxed” and “Family Man” have won and been nominated for the Eisner Award and the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award, respectively. She is also a member of Helioscope, the biggest comic book studio collective in North America.

Meconis has created graphic works for publishers like Dark Horse Comics, Random House and Image Comics and notable institutions such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Amazon Web Services.

Her graphic novels are sci-fi and fantasy adventures full of humor and historical drama for readers of all ages. Almost all of her work can be read for free on her website. Meconis’ latest publication is a collaboration for Image Comics, “Bitch Planet Triple Feature #3,” a feminist series that riffs off the women-in-prison movies prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s.

In these comics, “˜non-compliant’ women are sent to an off-planet prison. Readers of the anthology view their arrest stories and life in the all-female prison.

Also in the vein of art and communication, Scott Cantrell will give a talk titled “The State of Arts Criticism in America” on Oct. 10 in the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall from 7:30″“9 p.m.

Cantrell was on staff with The Dallas Morning News from 1999″“2015 as a classical music critic and has continued as a freelancer since. His publication credits include work in The New York Times, The Kansas City Star, Encyclopedia Britannica and BBC Music. Cantrell has won many writing awards, most notably a Pulitzer Prize in 2016.

A musician and historian himself, Cantrell has traveled both across the states and abroad writing about music, art, architecture and all the many connections between.

Together these communication- and media-savvy speakers will engage the Trinity community in conversation during the month of October. Whether your interest lies in art, music, communication, writing or hybrids of them all, there will be something for you in the Stieren Arts Enrichment Series.