I am pleased to announce the first keynote speaker for PyCon 2012 - Paul Graham of Y Combinator and Lisp/Arc fame. PyCon 2012 represents the 10th annual PyCon US - and on this special occasion, I am proud to have Paul back as a keynote speaker (he did the keynote at PyCon 2003).

Paul Graham is an essayist, programmer, and investor, and recently well-known as one of the founders of Y Combinator. With PyCon held right in the heart of Silicon Valley, it seemed fitting to welcome Paul back for not just that it is the 10th anniversary, but also to celebrate the many startups and entrepreneurs that have come out of PyCon.

One of Paul’s signature essays is “The Python Paradox” - describing his experience that people doing interesting and innovative things are frequently attracted to Python. Paul’s insight has proven true, as Y Combinator has funded and advised numerous Python-using companies, from Dropbox to Disqus, to Reddit, Justin.tv and Convore. The list is sure to expand as Y Combinator is currently accepting applications for their winter cycle.

In addition to this, I am also pleased to announce that we will be "bringing back" the "Startup Row" we had at PyCon 2011 - we heard the feedback from the companies we showcased, and the attendees and based on that - Startup Row 2011 was a smashing success which we want to once again bring to PyCon.

Applications for Startup Row 2011 will open in mid October.

Currently, our Call for Proposals is in full swing - and we encourage everyone to submit talks, tutorials and posters for PyCon 2012; right now we're on target for a no-holds-barred-break-all-the-records conference, and we want everyone to be part of it.

Finally, if you missed it - we've also announced the new PyCon 2012 Jobs Fair page featuring job listing from PyCon sponsors - keep an eye on it, sponsors are adding jobs every day - this is a free add-on benefit for all silver level and above sponsors. Interested in being a sponsor? See the PyCon sponsors page and prospectus.

Feel free to also discuss at Reddit, and Hacker News!

- Jesse Noller, PyCon 2012 Chair