What Makes a Great KotlinConf Proposal?

Whether you’re submitting a talk or joining the audience, we’d love to see you in Kraków. Prices go up tomorrow, October 16. Get tickets.

The KotlinConf 2027 Call for Papers is now open! We invite developers from across the Kotlin community to bring their ideas, experiences, and expertise to the stage in Kraków.

Do you have a Kotlin lesson or discovery that could help other developers? Perhaps you solved a difficult technical problem, introduced Kotlin into an existing codebase, built something unexpected, or learned valuable lessons from an approach that did not go according to plan.

That experience could become a KotlinConf talk.

However, turning an idea into a convincing conference proposal can be challenging, especially if you've never submitted one before. How do you know whether your experience is worth sharing? What do reviewers notice first? How detailed should your abstract be? And how can you make a familiar topic stand out?

To help you prepare your submission, we asked Kotlin developers, developer advocates, experienced speakers, and KotlinConf program committee members what makes a strong proposal. Alongside practical advice for shaping your title, abstract, and takeaways, we have added a new section answering an especially important question: What do reviewers notice first when they open a proposal?

First-time speaker? Submit your idea anyway!

It's easy to assume that a KotlinConf talk must begin with a groundbreaking discovery, a major production system, or years of speaking experience. In reality, a valuable talk can begin with a simple idea or a lesson learned while solving an everyday development problem.

You don't need to know everything about Kotlin – you need something useful to share and a clear idea of who it could help.

Pamela Hill-Galloway. Developer Advocate, KotlinConf Program Committee member, and KotlinConf speaker X, BlueSky, LinkedIn Submit your idea anyway! There have been some wildly successful talks at KotlinConf that started out as just a simple idea.

If you're unsure whether your topic would interest anyone, discuss it with the people around you. Explain the idea to colleagues, friends, members of a user group, or people in the Kotlin community. Their questions and reactions can help you understand which parts are most valuable.

Marcin Mycek. Product Manager, Kotlin Build Tools LinkedIn If you can find one interested person, there are probably more! If you can find at least two people around you who find the topic interesting and can listen for more than five minutes, it is already a decent candidate.

Previous conference experience is not required. A clear, authentic proposal based on something you understand and care about can be more compelling than a polished proposal with little substance behind it.