Speaking at DjangoCon US

Our Call for Proposals is now closed. Decision notifications will be sent by June 24th, 2019.

Why Speak at DjangoCon US?

  • Presenters receive a free ticket to DjangoCon US! (Travel costs are not included, but potential speakers were encouraged to apply for an opportunity grant.)
  • Professionally produced video of your talk published to our YouTube channel. (You may opt out of this.)
  • Professional photographer on hand to photograph your talk. (Also optional.)
  • Expose the Django community to new tools, practices, or ideas.
  • Expand your technical, professional, and personal networks.
  • Share your discoveries with a large audience.
  • Give back to the Django community!

Proposing to DjangoCon US

Selection process

We’ll choose a selection of talks and tutorials that we feel add up to the most enjoyable and engaging program for our attendees. Volunteers from the Django community are invited to help us pick talks, and we rely heavily on them to help us select ones that are interesting and beneficial to our attendees. Community volunteers and conference organizers will review anonymized submissions and collectively decide which ones to accept.

Talks (September 23rd & 24th)

Length: 25 minutes or 45 minutes

We are looking for original and interesting talks that can benefit the diverse interests of our audience. Don’t feel boxed into Django-centric themes; we also love talks about community, web development, user experience, and more. If you’re a first timer - don’t fret! We would love to be remembered as the conference where you started your speaking career.

Here are some examples of what has been accepted over the last couple of years:

Deep Dive Talks (September 25th)

This year, we will be curating a deep dive day to focus on exploring Django and Django-adjacent topics in detail. Deep dive day is meant to follow in the footsteps of Django Under the Hood and will provide a range of topics presented in depth, targeting varying levels of Django experience. Talks of this nature will be a mix of community submissions and personal invitations. If you believe your talk is a good fit, please indicate so on your submission to our CFP by choosing the “deep dive” tag!

Tutorials (September 22nd)

Length: 3-3.5 hours

We’re open to all kinds of ideas, especially ones we haven’t thought of! Technical tutorials tend to be more popular, but we welcome all topics. Tutorials can be targeted at any experience level — just be sure to indicate clearly what you expect your students to already know or have experience with.

Still unsure if you should submit? Not only will we cover your DjangoCon US ticket, but tutorials are compensated.

Lightning Talks :zap: (September 23rd, 24th, & 25th)

Not up for a full-on talk or tutorial? Looking to give your first talk at a conference? Lightning talks are talks under 5 minutes with or without slides on almost any topic you want! Even if you’re nervous or shy, remember: it’s a maximum of 5 minutes. Sign-ups will happen at the conference.

Speaker Travel Assistance

This year, we have set aside up to $500 per speaker to help offset the cost of travel to the conference. In order to maximize the amount we can provide, we ask that speakers who will be reimbursed by their employer decline the assistance offered so it can be spread out among speakers who do not receive travel reimbursement. Receipts for travel expenses will be required.

If $500 will not cover your expenses, and you applied for an opportunity grant, we cannot guarantee it will be awarded to you.

Opportunity grant applications closed May 20th, 2019. We will send decision notifications by June 24th, 2019.