Announcing speakers and sessions

Announcing speakers and sessions

We’re writing today with an update on the fast-approaching Portland conference.

We’re delighted to announce that we’ve finalized our speakers for the event, and have updated t-shirts on sale. Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to send us a pitch – we literally wouldn’t have an event without you!

Full speaker line-up

Every year, we look to bring a wide range of voices to the Write the Docs stage. Because the role of “documentarian” looks so different to each of us, we aim for a line-up that spans a good mix of practical, philosophical, and technical topics – with the odd whimsical one thrown in for good measure. We’re really excited about the presentations we’ve got this year – we hope you are too!

  • Abigail McCarthy – A guide to getting started in open source
  • Jessica Garson – Writing a perfect technical tutorial
  • Deanna Thompson – Building a style guide from the ground up: lessons learned from a lone writer
  • Katherine Karaus – Invisible influence — the documentation behind UX copy
  • Rachael Stavchansky – Shuffle ball change: Sashay your way to clearer API documentation
  • Falon Darville – Almost None to Some: Driving DISQO’s Doc Culture as a Solo Documentarian
  • Daniele Procida – Always complete, never finished
  • Rin Oliver – Writing Documentation with Neurodivergent Open Source Contributors In Mind
  • Swapnil Ogale – Putting the “tech” in technical writer
  • Sarah R. Rodlund – Beyond metrics: Using maturity models to develop a docs strategy
  • Paris Buttfield-Addison – The Secret History of Libraries
  • Nicola Yap – Level Up - Onboarding that enables writers to thrive
  • Ines Stefanovic – Is Tech Writer a Tester, and Vice Versa, Is Tester a Tech Writer?
  • Laura Novich – Documentation Communities: Sound Strategy or Documentarian’s Gambit?

Head over to the Speakers page to see the full abstracts. We hope there’s something there for everyone to enjoy, and also something that will broaden your horizons a bit.

Shirts on sale

The Write the Docs Portland 2021 Pop-Up Shop is open, and starting this year we updated the logo to include the year of the conference! You can order loose and fitted options from different fabrics, and you can choose exactly the size and cut you want.

The campaign will run in 3-day batches until May 31st. Shipping is available from the USA or Europe. However, due to the global shipping situation, we recommend you order your shirt at least 2-3 weeks in advance if you want to sport your new threads during the conference.

Tickets are going fast!

If you don’t have your ticket yet, now’s a great time to snap one up. Conference tickets have sold out for the last several years, and they go faster along with the speaker announcement, so if you’re planning to come, don’t leave it to the last minute.

Buy your tickets here!

Thanks to our sponsors

We are so grateful to have our sponsors help in bringing these events to life every year. Thanks sincerely to the following companies for supporting the Write the Docs community:

Head over to our sponsorship prospectus for details on how your company can get involved! We have several types of sponsorship available, including tables at the job fair that we’ll be hosting on Tuesday.

And that’s the latest on the Portland conference. We hope you’re all getting as excited as we are! Stay tuned for more details.

The Write the Docs Team