Summercon is one of the oldest hacker conventions, and the longest running such conference in America. It helped set a precedent for more modern “cons” such as H.O.P.E. and DEF CON, although it has remained smaller and more personal. Summercon has been hosted in cities such as Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Atlanta, New York, Washington, D.C., Austin, Las Vegas, and Amsterdam.
NEWS
- Volunteers Needed! Apply Now!
You know what it takes to make Summercon happen every year? An army of volunteers!
Free admission, cool swag, and bragging rights — do you think you have what it takes?
- CFP Open 2026
The Call for Papers for Summercon 2026 is now open.
We’re looking for talks that come out of real work. That can take a lot of forms: original research, novel exploitation techniques, unexpected failures that led somewhere interesting–but the common thread is that the material should be grounded in something you actually did, not something you assembled after the fact.
We tend to respond well to talks that show the path, not just the result. What were you trying to do, what went wrong, what surprised you, and how did you eventually get somewhere useful? That arc is often more valuable than a clean, linear presentation that skips over the difficult parts.
The conference is single-track, which means every talk is presented to the full audience. That constraint shapes the selection process. We’re not trying to fill parallel sessions or niche tracks; we’re trying to build a program where each talk can hold the room.
If you’re considering submitting, take a look at our speaker guidelines and past talks to get a sense of what works here. Then send us something you’d actually want to sit through yourself.
We admit that we have a lot of latitude in how we schedule speakers, but generally presentations fall into two categories: short (25 minutes), and long (55 minutes). We tend to favor technical presentations that are geared around offense, but we’re open to all good ideas. Please build in time for spirited Q&A.
We invite you to review what we look for when selecting a presentation, but here’s the TL;DR:
- Technical
- Novel
- Irreverent
- Revels in the journey
- Sticks it to the Man
- Engages the audience
- Fits into the allocated time
Submissions are open now. We’re reviewing them on a rolling basis.
Please submit your proposals using our Google Form.
Deadline: Saturday, May 15, 2026 11:59PM (EDT, because we’re in New York) - Summercon 2026 is GO
Early Bird tickets for America’s Oldest Hacker Conference are now live.
We’re back at Littlefield next June with two days of sharp research, bad jokes, good people, and the kind of glorious chaos only Summercon can deliver.
Get your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/summercon-2026-tickets-1486402011429
Sponsors: planning for 2026 is already underway. If you want to be part of the ecosystem, reach out —
[email protected]See you in Brooklyn!