So You Want to Give A Talk: How to Write a CFP
NetSPI Speakers
Event: BSides Las Vegas 2025
The one thing I love about our community is the passion to give back. And if you’re reading this and thinking “I would love to give back, but I don’t know where to start” then this talk is for you. Almost every month it seems like there’s a cybersecurity conference happening, and each of those conferences have what is called a Call for Papers (CFP). It sounds scary and daunting, but submitting a CFP isn’t very hard once you know what you’re doing. As someone who’s given dozens of talks and has been on the review board for a few conferences, including BSidesLV, I know a thing or two about CFPs.
The purpose of this talk is to walk you through what makes a good CFP, what’s in it for you, how to properly fill out the various sections, what a CFP review board is and what they want to see. We’ll use examples of the BSidesLV CFP as well as DEFCON and BlackHat (since they ask for extra special stuff). By the end of this talk you’ll have the confidence to submit your first CFP and start giving talks!