Important Dates

Permission to Record & Release Presentations

Part of the motivation for PyCon is to help with Python education and advocacy around the world, not just in the United States, and not just at PyCon. Accordingly, we intend to record all PyCon presentations and release the recordings on the web. By submitting your tutorial proposal, you agree to give permission to the Python Software Foundation to record, edit, and release audio and/or video of your presentation.

To cut down on administration, no exceptions will be made. If you don't want to give the PSF permission to record your presentation and release the recording, do not submit a proposal.

For details, see the Recording Release Agreement.

Submission Format

Proposals should be 800 to 1500 words long (i.e., three to six pages in manuscript format). Multiple tutorial sessions may be requested, but a separate proposal must be submitted for each session (separate outlines, etc.). Do not combine two sessions into one proposal. Proposals must include the following information:

• Tutorial title.
• Presenter name(s) & contact information (email, telephone). If more than one person will be presenting the session, please select one person to be the primary contact.
• Tutorial format description (lecture, interactive lecture, Q&A session [master class], hands-on, etc.). Be specific.
• Recording: indicate if you are amenable to your tutorial being recorded. "I give permission to record and publish my PyCon tutorial for free distribution."
• Intended audience (difficulty level, experience required): non-programmers, beginning programmers, advanced users, CPython developers, etc.
• Maximum number of students, if appropriate.
• Prerequisites: What experience must attendees have in order to fully benefit from this tutorial? If one tutorial is a prerequisite for another, this must be clearly noted in both proposals. If you are proposing multiple sessions, indicate your preference of either "back-to-back" sessions on one day or split over the two days.
• Attendee Requirements: A list of software and hardware attendees will need for the tutorial. (Laptop required or recommended? Python installed? Which version? 3rd-party packages required? Provide links & versions.)
• Presenter Requirements: Any special requirements you may have. Standard equipment is a 1024x768 projector; you supply the laptop.
• Notes for reviewers.
• Promotional summary (max. 100 words).
• Detailed tutorial outline, for review (include timing).
• Tutorial outline for website publication, if different from the above.
• Presenter bio (one paragraph), written in the third person ("Presenter Name is..."). Include where you live, your job, your projects, books you've written, volunteer activities, family, etc.
• Previous experience: references of presentation/teaching engagements (sessions taught at OSCON, EuroPython, local user groups, at work, etc.). Extra consideration will be given to presenters with prior experience.

Be specific and detailed. Your proposal is what we use to determine if your class should be offered; often we have multiple proposals on the same (or similar) topics. Also, tutorial levels not matching some attendee expectations was a significant complaint in 2008.

Plaintext (reST) is preferred, with HTML as a secondary alternative. Send your proposal (and any questions) to <pycon-tutorials@python.org>. You should get an acknowledgment from us. If you do not, please follow up an email letting us know.

See the example tutorial proposal.

Session Structure

Each session will be 3 hours long, plus a break, broken up as follows:

• 90 minutes: first half of tutorial
• 30 minutes: break -- refreshments served
• 90 minutes: second half of tutorial

It is important that you adhere to this structure, to within a few minutes. If you break too early, the refreshments may not be ready by the time you resume. If you break too late, the refreshments may all be gone. Either way, your students would not be happy with you.

So structure your proposal so you can easily break the session in two halves, and stick to it on the day!

Preparation

PyCon attendees pay extra to register for your tutorial, and you are being paid to present it. You are expected to prepare professional slides & handouts, and to practice and polish your delivery. Check your code for typos & syntax errors (i.e., run all of your code).

Presenters must supply PDFs for handouts (notes, workbook, etc.), maximum 50 pages. At minimum, handouts must contain a copy of the presentation (slides), but you are encouraged to include more details. PyCon will reproduce sufficient copies for everyone enrolled. Please submit your PDFs in 8.5x11 format (not A4).

If you're having trouble meeting the deadlines, please let us know as soon as possible.

Presenters are encouraged to promote their tutorials. You may submit an article for publication on the PyCon blog (the earlier the better).

Honoraria

An honorarium of $1,500.00 (USD) will be paid for each tutorial. Additional compensation will be made for tutorials scheduled for the first day (Wednesday): the equivalent of 1 room-night at a conference hotel.

Please watch for details on paperwork that will need to be filled out.

Conference registration, accommodations, and transportation are the responsibility of the instructors. PyCon is a volunteer-run, low-cost, "everybody pays" community conference. However, financial assistance will be available and instructors who pay their own way are encouraged to apply (details TBA).

Cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel tutorials with fewer than 10 people enrolled as of the cancellation date. Presenters will not be paid for canceled tutorials.