Call for papers
see-eff-PEE
An open invitation from a conference for potential speakers to submit talk proposals for consideration.
A CFP is how conferences select their speakers. The conference publishes a call for papers with submission guidelines, topics of interest, and a deadline. Potential speakers submit abstracts describing their proposed talks. A review committee selects the best submissions.
Writing a good CFP submission is a skill. The abstract must clearly state what the audience will learn, why the topic matters, and why you are the right person to present it. Specific is better than vague. 'How we cut deployment time from 4 hours to 4 minutes' is more compelling than 'Best practices for deployment.'
For DevRel teams, CFP submissions are a key activity. Getting conference talks accepted at major conferences builds the company's technical credibility and puts the brand in front of thousands of developers.
Examples
A DevRel team submits to 20 CFPs in a quarter.
Each team member submits 3-5 unique talk proposals to relevant conferences. The acceptance rate is about 30%. They land 6 speaking slots across 5 conferences in the quarter. Each talk reaches 200-500 attendees plus thousands of YouTube viewers later.
A CFP submission gets accepted at a top conference.
The submission: 'We deleted our microservices: a monolith migration story.' It gets accepted because it is specific, contrarian (most talks advocate for microservices), and backed by real data. The talk becomes one of the most popular sessions.
A company helps engineers submit to CFPs.
The DevRel team runs a 'CFP workshop' where engineers learn to write compelling abstracts. They review and refine each other's submissions. The company's acceptance rate at conferences increases from 20% to 40%.
In practice
Conference talk proposal template
TITLE [Specific, concrete title. Not clever. Not vague. Tell the reviewer exactly what the audience will learn.] Example: "How we cut API latency by 60% with edge caching at Stripe" ABSTRACT (300 words max) Paragraph 1: The problem. What challenge does the audience face? Why should they care? Paragraph 2: What you did. Specific approach, tools, decisions. Not theory. Paragraph 3: The result. What happened? Numbers if you have them. Paragraph 4: The takeaway. What will attendees be able to do after this talk? OUTLINE - [0:00-5:00] Setup: the problem and why existing approaches fail - [5:00-15:00] The approach: what we built and why - [15:00-25:00] Results and lessons learned - [25:00-30:00] Practical takeaways the audience can apply Monday TARGET AUDIENCE [Who is this for? What level? What do they need to know beforehand?] BIO [Name] is [role] at [company]. [1-2 sentences about relevant experience. Not a resume. Why should the audience trust you on this topic?]
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Frequently asked questions
How do you write a strong CFP submission?
Lead with what the audience will learn. Be specific about the problem and the results. Include your qualifications (experience, data, unique perspective). Keep the abstract concise (200-300 words). Avoid jargon and marketing language. Reviewers read hundreds of submissions; yours must stand out in 30 seconds.
Where do you find CFPs to submit to?
Websites like confs.tech, PaperCall, and Sessionize list open CFPs. Follow conferences in your space on Twitter. Many conferences announce CFPs 3-6 months before the event. The DevRel team should maintain a calendar of relevant conference deadlines.
Related terms
A presentation at a developer conference where a speaker shares technical knowledge, experience, or insights with an audience.
Representing developer interests within a company while helping developers succeed with the company's products.
A local, informal gathering of developers to learn, network, and discuss technical topics.
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