WordCamp for Publishers will be held on August 17-19 at The Denver Post in the heart of the Mile-High City.
The niche WordCamp, which is the first of its kind, aims to bring together people who use WordPress to manage publications of all sizes, from small blogs to massive publications like The New York Times.
What to expect
The three-day conference will feature a combination of talks, workshops, and other sessions for editorial teams, site and plugin developers, and anyone who is involved in managing a WordPress publication looking to expand their knowledge of WordPress publishing. “Our speakers and attendees will come from national media organizations and smaller publications,” the official WordCamp for Publishers site said.
The idea for WordCamp for Publishers evolved out of a working group assembled to discuss how open-source tools can help support publishers, Steph Yiu, one of the event organizers, told Torque.
“Adam Schweigert, who used to run engineering at the Institute of Nonprofit News, also led a working group assembled by MIT and the Knight Foundation on open-source tools that can support publishers,” Yiu said. “Through that group, the idea for a WordPress and Publisher specific event came together.”
Yiu and Schweigert submitted an application to WordCamp Central in November and received approval in February. Despite being the first of its kind, the application process for the niche WordCamp was fairly straight-forward.
“We submitted the application in November, and then WordCamp Central reached out to us at the start of this year to interview us about the event” Yiu said. “We received a training call and then they reviewed our budget prior to approving the dates.”
WordCamp for Publishers will be held just one week before the annual WordCamp Denver, which is planned for August 26-27. The decision for WordCamp for Publishers to be held in Denver was entirely unrelated to WordCamp Denver and was an easy decision made by WordCamp for Publishers’ organizers after being offered a venue donation.
“Mateo Leyba, who works for Digital First Media, was a part of the working group and offered a venue donation. That was very welcome as venues are usually the most expensive part of any event, especially for a first-time one.”
Both are very different events, each providing its own educational benefits. The WordCamp for Publishers team have been, nonetheless, working closely with the WordCamp Denver team on the event dates and intend on cross-promoting the two events.
Does this mean we can expect more niche WordCamps in the future?
Over the last few years, there’s been an explosion in the number of niche WordPress events – with more and more popping up each year. Conferences like WooConf, LoopConf, WP Campus, and A Day of REST provide an opportunity to deep-dive into different areas of WordPress – dissimilar to WordCamps, which provide a more comprehensive educational experience.
Unlike other niche events, however, WordCamp for Publishers is the first specialized WordPress event to be included under the official WordCamp Central umbrella. From the beginning, the WordCamp for Publishers team identified a clear alignment between the event and WordCamp Central.
“We are all volunteers who wanted to give back to the WordPress community,” Yiu said. “The WordCamp ethos, structure, and community were very much aligned with our volunteer group’s values and it was pretty clear that we wanted this to be a part of the WordCamp umbrella.”
“We’ve really appreciated the support we’ve received from WordCamp Central thus far — the coaching and guidance has been invaluable for a first-time event,” she said.
This begs the question of if we can anticipate to see more niche WordCamps in the future. While it is too early to tell, WordCamp for Publishers could offer a new model for niche WordPress events in the future.
Speakers, sponsors, and more
WordCamp for Publishers will be limiting ticket sales to 230 attendees. While tickets for the event are not yet available, you can subscribe to receive updates on the event delivered directly to your inbox.
If you’re interested in speaking at WordCamp for Publishers, you can apply now through May 10 – those selected will be notified no later than May 31. You can review the application guidelines in more detail here to understand what types of topics and submissions the team is looking for.
Sponsorship packages for the inaugural event are also available – packages range from a Micro-Sponsor for $250 to a Gold Sponsor for $2,500.
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