Speaker's Rider

I am always happy to give talks at conferences and elsewhere, but after seeing things go wrong and speakers taken advantage of, I now ask hosts to agree to a few things in advance. (Please note that these apply to talks, not to teaching engagements such as workshops.)

Inclusivity

• I will often suggest you invite a speaker who isn’t as privileged as I am instead of me. I’ve had a lot of chances to express my opinions on stage; I think other people, and other kinds of people, deserve that chance as well.
• You don’t include speakers who publicly advocate racism, misogyny, or homophobia.
• You don’t only invite marginalized people to speak about their experiences of marginalization.
• [Added Nov 2021] I will not take part in events that do not offer participants a fully-remote option, as the COVID-19 lockdown showed that this is feasible and that it makes events much more accessible to people with physical disabilities and people from less affluent parts of the world.

Strictly-enforced Code of Conduct

• Your CoC explicitly explains what constitutes abusive or unacceptable behavior.
• You have clearly defined methods for dealing with conflicts when they arise and trained staff to to handle complaints.

Content

Intellectual Property

• I retain all rights to slides and other material I develop, but will make them available for reposting and rehosting under a Creative Commons license.
• I will allow video recordings/live streams so long as they are accessible (captioned) and free (no paywalls).
• You do not censor my content (visual, spoken, textual, or otherwise) without my prior express approval.

Formatting

• No branding of my content (e.g., addition of someone else’s logo) without my express prior approval.
• I reserve the right to charge extra if my content is branded.
• I reserve the right to charge for my labor if I am required to reformat my content in any way. Any such requirement, and my rate, must be agreed before a contract is signed.

Costs

Reporting

• I will provide receipts or invoices for all reimbursable costs.

Travel expenses

• My full travel costs must be covered unless the talk is in my home town (Toronto, Ontario) or given remotely by video.
• Incidental or unexpected costs (e.g., accommodation during weather delays) must also be covered.

Lodging expenses

• For engagements requiring more than a three-hour flight, I require at least one night’s lodging before the day I’m scheduled to speak as well as lodging on the day itself.
• You must provide the option to purchase both travel and accommodation on behalf of the speaker. While I may choose to pay and then claim, the reimbursement model excludes people who cannot carry the cost for what is sometimes months.
• Similarly, you must leave your credit card on file for the hotel for incidental expenses.

Speaker honorarium

• The invitation must include a ticket for the full event (i.e., I will decline invitations that require me to pay to register for the event).
• If there are multiple speakers, we must all be paid equally. I do not support celebrity speakers being paid more.
• I may at my discretion waive my fee for not-for-profit/community events whose tickets are free or very low priced.

Logistics

Physically accessibility

• All areas that are part of the conference must be accessible, including attendee seating, the stage, and social event venues.
• You must provide live captioning (which helps everyone, not just people who are hard of hearing).
• You must include accessible bathroom options for all genders.

Safety and security

• You must provide appropriate security at the venue.
• You must not transfer or sell my data (not even to conference sponsors) without my express, prior, case-by-case approval.

Self-identification

• You must provide stickers, nametag space, or an equivalent so that people can indicate their preferred names, titles, and pronouns.

Scholarship program

• If you have a scholarship program, you must be explicit about how you choose candidates, and must not require them to recapitulate personal trauma to be approved.
• If you do not include travel costs in scholarships, you must make it clear that they are solely ticket scholarships.

Stage setup

• You must ensure an accessible stage (see above).
• You must require speakers to use a microphone (even—scratch that, especially—if they think they have loud voices, because otherwise you’re requiring audience members to self-identify their needs).
• Please provide a timer that is visible to the speaker and enforce time limits for everyone.

Presentation computer

• You must give speakers the option of presenting from a conference computer or their own (in order to accommodate custom setups, special needs, etc.).
• You must provide an opportunity for speakers to test the setup far enough in advance of speaking to deal with any issues that arise.

Force Majeure

• If for any reason your event, other speakers, sponsors, attendees, vendors, or messaging become problematic, I reserve the right to withdraw from your event at any time.
• If I withdraw, you may no longer associate me with your event in any way. For example, you may not use any materials I have prepared or videos of me that you have recorded.
• You are responsible for any and all costs associated with this, specifically including reimbursement for canceled travel and accommodations.