Call for Proposals
Kink Between the Lines is currently accepting proposals for our upcoming event!
Dates: November 7 - 9, 2025
This year’s theme is: Privilege at the Margins
Deadline: April 30, 2025 at 23:59 UTC+0 / GMT / London time
Find that deadline in your own timezone by clicking here
We are accepting proposals for: workshops, presentations, classes, socials, lounges, events, demonstrations, panels, and community discussions.
Educator Eligibility
Educators should meet the following criteria:
- Identify as marginalized within a kinky context. We will not fact check your identities, but you will be asked to provide information about them.
- Be comfortable being recorded for post-conference viewing (Extended Access). Only a handful of non-recorded class slots are available and are reserved for specific, sensitive topics or presenters who have access needs around recording.
- Have a passion for diversity within kink and be ready to engage enthusiastically about it!
KBtL prioritizes educators whose identities are highly marginalized including (but not limited to): BIPOC, people not originally from the USA, non-males, non-cisgender people, non-heteronormative people, people with disabilities, and/or people residing outside the USA.
Topic Eligibility
Topics should meet the following criteria:
- Relate to both kink and to marginalization/diversity.
- Have a formal title and description in order to be submitted. Also, each person can submit no more than 3 classes/topics.
- Be engaging and exciting; no one likes a boring class!
KBtL prioritizes classes that go beyond a lecture format. We like to see engaging and/or hands-on topics as well as demonstrations, community discussions, and panels.
Repeat Presentations/Educators
KBtL reminds you that an individual can only give the same workshop/topic for 2 events in a row and may only present at KBtL for 3 events in a row. After that, we ask people to take a year off to allow for healthy circulation in our topics and people. During your ‘year off’ you are welcome to sit on panels, host events or socials, or volunteer with us! After you’ve taken that one gap year you are welcome to apply to teach again.
Compensation
Kink Between the Lines takes compensation of our Educators very seriously. It is a top priority for us to compensate as many Educators as we can and to engage in fair and equitable compensation practices. All our compensation comes directly from our ticket sales, which means it varies per event. After deducting overhead costs (such as zoom licenses and website hosting fees, etc), KBtL uses the remainder of its profit from tickets to compensate our Educators. Compensation is different depending on your role at KBtL and how many sessions you do. We do not tier compensation by how many years presenters have been teaching. On average, we pay our presenters $137 per session they teach, but again this can vary widely based on the amount of people who buy tickets to the conference. The lowest we’ve ever paid was $22 per session (in our very first year!) and the highest was $299 (on a year we received additional funding from a generous Partner).
All Educators are allowed to list donation links in their bio and on Discord as a virtual “tip jar” so that attendees of the conference can additionally compensate them for their sessions.
Here is what various educators earn for their sessions:
Presenters
Presenters lead lectures, classes, workshops, demonstrations, or community discussions. They earn full admission to the conference. They also receive a payment based on the number of sessions they teach and the number of tickets KBtL sells.
Presenters may voluntarily opt out of the financial compensation and be “Volunteer Presenters”. In this case, they do not receive a payment, but they still are given full admission to the event for free. (See below for more info.)
Panels & Events
Panel/Events are divided into two categories: those that are sponsored by KBtL and those that are not.
Unsponsored panels/events organized and run entirely by a Panel/Event Host who does the work of planning the panel/event. In these cases, Panel/Event Hosts earn full admission to the conference. They also receive a payment based on the number of sessions they teach and the number of tickets KBtL sells. They may opt out of the payment portion of their compensation voluntarily if they wish. (See below for more info.)
Sponsored panels/events are organized by KBtL and KBtL staff does the work of planning the panel/event. In these cases, Panel/Event Hosts are considered volunteers. They receive 50% off the admission costs of the event and are welcome to volunteer for additional hours to secure free admission. They do not receive any additional payments.
Panelists, regardless of the type of panel, are considered volunteers. They receive 50% off the admission costs of the event and are welcome to volunteer for additional hours to secure free admission. They do not receive any additional payments.
Socials & Lounges
Social/Lounge Hosts are considered volunteers. They receive 50% off the admission costs of the event and are welcome to volunteer for additional hours to secure free admission. They do not receive any additional payments.
Compensation Opt-Out (“Volunteer Presenters”)
Presenters, Panel Hosts, and Event Hosts who are eligible for earning payment are given the option to voluntarily opt-out of payment. These individuals will still earn full admission to the event, but will not receive an additional payment. KBtL requests (but does not require) that applicants who hold multiple mainstream/non-marginalized identities opt out of payment. Doing so allows us to financially compensate presenters who are multiply marginalized and are less likely to be given a paid platform to share their knowledge.
Extended Access Compensation
Extended Access (EA) is not included as part of compensation, typically. It can be earned through volunteer time, or purchased either at full price or for 50% off. Educators will be informed of their earned EA options upon acceptance to the event.
Session Types
- Slideshow as primary focus of session without other engagement
- Presenter expects minimal or no audience participation
- Recorded for Extended Access
- Takes place on Zoom
- Slideshow as primary source of information
- Presenter asks the audience to engage with polls, opinion questions, and short discussions
- Presenter expects a little audience participation
- Recorded for Extended Access
- Takes place on Zoom
- Uses no slideshow and relies on demonstrations, storytelling, or hands-on activities
- Presenter expects audience participation
- Recorded for Extended Access
- Takes place on Zoom
- Session focuses on the sharing of a skill with others
- Presenter expects observation and limited questions from the audience
- Recorded for Extended Access
- Takes place on Zoom
- Split into two parts
- Takes place on Zoom
- Part 1: Recorded for Extended Access
- Guidelines and scope of conversation presented with minimal participation from the audience
- Part 2: Recording Stopped after Part 1
- Audience and presenter co-engage freely in discussion
- Presenter expects a high level of audience participation
- A curated selection of questions on a topic of mutual interest is asked to a group of panelists
- Panels have 1 host and 2-4 panelists
- Panelists do not need to be confirmed at the time of application
- Host expects limited questions or participation from the audience
- Recorded for Extended Access
- Takes place on Zoom
- A non-educational gathering based on a shared identity or interest
- Host does not teach, but engages the group in mutual conversation(s)
- Host expects high participation from attendees
- Not recorded
- Takes place on Gather
- A non-educational session designed to engage the audience in fun
- Host plans activities, games, or performances
- Participation varies depending on the event
- Not recorded
- Takes place on Zoom or Gather
Technology
KBtL is hosted on three virtual platforms. It is helpful if presenters are familiar with some of these platforms, but this is by no means required. Plenty of our presenters had never used Discord before they started teaching with us! We will work with you to learn how to use those spaces via info sessions in the few months leading up to KBtL.
- Discord: We use Discord as our primary host space and it is where the links for all sessions are posted. It is required that you both have a Discord account and join our server in order to be an Educator at KBtL. Check out how to get a Discord account here
- Zoom: Zoom is where we hold most sessions.
- Gather: This is our social zone. Socials, Lounges, and Events are held here and the space is also open 24/7 during the conference for sporadic socializing.
Accessibility
KBtL welcomes presenters of all abilities and we do our best to make sure that disabled presenters have the tools they need to thrive at our conference. However, accessibility is not a universal constant. It’s impossible for us to list every form of accessibility and every accommodation we use at KBtL. If you have specific access needs or questions, please contact us at [email protected] and we can provide you with more information.