PyCon 2012, the tenth annual Python conference, is now accepting proposals! We’re looking for proposals for tutorials, sessions, and posters. PyCon 2012 will run March 7th - 15th.

The proposal deadline is October 12, 2011. Please submit proposals at the PyCon speaker page.

About PyCon 2012

PyCon 2012 is the tenth annual Python Conference. It will be held in Santa Clara, California, from March 7th to March 15th. The conference itself runs March 9th - 11th; two days of tutorials precede the conference, and four days of sprints follow.

Last year’s PyCon set records for attendance and talk submissions, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger and better conference this year!

Who should submit a proposal?

Anyone! We’re looking for as broad a cross-section of the Python community as possible.

We’re looking for both experienced conference speakers and people new to technical conferences; industry professionals and hobbyists; entrepreneurs, researchers, and system administrators. You’ve probably learned something that other Python users could benefit from, so come to PyCon and share your story. Maybe you’ve written the next great data mining package, or you have a case study to share, or you’ve learned something about how to start a Python users’ group, or you just want to help novices learn how to choose a Python web framework.

If you have something to tell your fellow Python programmers, PyCon 2012 is your chance.



You don’t have to be a professional speaker to give a talk at PyCon. Presenters are volunteers from all walks of life and all levels of experience. From hardcore hackers to educators to hobbyists, anyone with something to say and the desire to say it is welcome.

If you have a topic idea but you’re not sure exactly how to turn it into a killer session, let us know! The program committee is happy to work with you to help your session shine.

What kind of sessions can I give?

PyCon 2012 will feature three types of talks:

Talks : Traditional sessions during the main conference. Most sessions are 30 minutes long; a few are 45. All levels of talks from from novice-level overviews to advanced topics are welcome. By popular demand, we’re bringing back the “extreme” track featuring advanced, in-depth, “details only” technical talks. For videos of talks from previous years, see: The Python Miro Community For more information on "Extreme Talks" see: http://us.pycon.org/2012/speaker/extreme/.

Tutorials : Tutorials are 3-hour classes given on the two days (Wednesday and Thursday) preceding the conference. Any topic related to Python will be considered. The selection committee strives to offer a wide range of topics and skill levels. Leading a tutorial gives you extra time to cover material and present it to a roomful of people who have paid extra to learn from you. Tutorials take extra preparation, usually including class handouts, but you will be paid (modestly) for your efforts; in 2011, teachers were paid $1500 per class. More importantly, you will help others advance their knowledge of Python. You may submit multiple tutorial proposals, but there is a limit of two classes per teacher.

For more detailed information including topic ideas see: http://us.pycon.org/2012/tutorials/proposals.

Posters: The poster session provides another way of presenting that encourages more one-on-one communication between the presenter and the audience. Poster sessions are particularly suited for topics of interest to a subset of the community, and we anticipate these sessions will provide an "incubator" for further discussions. The presentation space is one side of a standalone poster board that you can tack posters or individual pages onto. A poster is a 4' x 4' graphical summary of the key points about your project which forms the starting point for a brief and interactive presentation to interested viewers.

For more information, see http://us.pycon.org/2012/posters or check out this informal video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dyzaZjwdfE. Posters will be accepted on a rolling basis until the limit is reached or January 15. We expect that the limit for the poster session will be 35-40, but this may change depending on space available. For a list of last year's posters, check out: http://us.pycon.org/2011/schedule/lists/posters/

Conference registration and travel

PyCon is entirely volunteer-organized and run, and works hard to keep costs as low as possible. This includes having an “everyone pays” policy: everyone, from the conference chair on down, pays for their own ticket and travel expenses. That said, we do appreciate those who share their knowledge at the conference: Speakers with accepted proposals will receive early bird pricing and have a guaranteed spot at the conference even if we hit the attendance cap. For more details on registration pricing, see: http://us.pycon.org/2012/registration/

If early bird pricing and travel would still be a burden, PyCon also has a large financial aid program to help those who can’t afford to attend PyCon. Speakers will be prioritized in the financial aid program. For more details, see http://us.pycon.org/2012/assistance/.

Timeline and deadlines

Please don’t delay! The proposal window is long, but the sooner you submit a proposal, the more time we'll have to help you put forward the best proposal. The program committee will begin reviewing proposals and giving feedback as talks are submitted This means early proposals will get more feedback, and you’ll have a better chance of getting accepted.

Proposals for talks and tutorials will be accepted until October 12th. The list of selected talks and tutorials will be finalized by the end of November. Posters will be accepted until January 15th.

Other important dates:

October 12, 2012: Talk and tutorial proposals due.

December 1, 2012: Selected talks and tutorials announced.

December 11, 2012: Conference schedule announced; early bird registration opens.

January 15, 2012: Poster proposals due.

January 20, 2012: Early-bird registration closes.

February 1, 2012: Posters announced.

March 7-8, 2012: Tutorial days at PyCon.

March 9-11, 2012: PyCon main conference.

March 12-15, 2011: PyCon sprint days.

Thank you!

Submit your proposal at http://us.pycon.org/2012/speaker/ and thanks for helping us make PyCon 2012 the best one yet!

For additional contact information, see: http://us.pycon.org/2012/about/