CFP

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:

1. Technical
2. Novel
3. Irreverent
4. Revels in the journey
5. Sticks it to the Man
6. Engages the audience
7. 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)

With the opening of the Summercon 2023 CFP, here are a few friendly tips for what makes a great Summercon presentation. These seven points represent the kinds of things that we are evaluating when we look at CFP proposals.

1. Technical
   • While we occasionally incorporate talks of a non-technical nature, almost every presentation that shows up at Summercon is deeply technical. They’re not sales pitches, and they’re not about righting societal wrongs. So if you’re planning on submitting a talk about why people should buy your company’s particular security snake oil, or why your company has the best culture (and you can too!), you’ll have more success somewhere else.
2. Novel
   • From time to time, in the interest of getting important content in front of the best audience in the world, we let people present something they’ve already shown at events of lesser stature. But we prefer totally new presentations instead of rehashed talks. New content has a better chance of getting shown on the Summercon stage.
3. Irreverent
   • While the presentations are technical, successful Summercon presentations get their point across is through non-traditional means. This is not the place to read slides. One memorable presentation used an Android-shaped piñata as a prop. Another invited participation through an AA-meeting style format. The sky’s the limit (within the limits of our code of conduct, of course).
4. Revels in the Journey
   • If you like talking about the trials and tribulations of research, we are all ears. Even though your final results may be super polished and look effortless, everyone knows you had at least three major setbacks and went down two totally worthless paths before you arrived at a good solution. Share those. People love that, especially our speaker selection committee.
5. Sticks it to The Man
   • Despite all the sponsorships, corporate attendance, and more buttoned-up nature of Summercon (see our Code of Conduct, which is totally reasonable, by the way), we are still, at heart, a hacker conference. Challenge authority. Show you’re not a patsy for The Man. Fight the Power.
6. Engages the Audience
   • Summercon speakers are a special breed, because Summercon attendees are a special breed. Prepare to have people call out your mistakes, heckle if you’re less than prepared, and generally push your buttons. Successful presentations channel this misplaced audience enthusiasm. We still fondly recall a choose-your-own-adventure presentation, where randomly selected audience members got to dictate the direction of the talk. Engage your audience, and they won’t turn on you. (This can be good life advice, too.)
7. Fits into the Allocated Time
   • We cannot overstate this: fill the time, generally 45 minutes of speaking with 10 minutes of Q&A. Our speaker selection committee has been around the block, so if you’re going to try to pretend that a six hour seminar fits into 55 minutes of speaking slot, it’s probably not going to get selected.

We look forward to your submission!