AI Assistants & Technology Options 2026
Teach one session on AI for indie authors.
Day 1 asks “Should I?” and Day 2 asks “How do I?” We are looking for people who can teach the sessions with real specifics.
November 20–21, 2026 · Online
AI Assistants & Technology Options is a summit for indie authors who are deciding what AI belongs in their work, and for the ones who have decided and want to set it up properly.
Day 1, Friday, November 20, is free and open to everyone. It is the “Should I?” day, with editorial sessions and sponsor demos that help authors weigh their options. Day 2, Saturday, November 21, is the paid Education Pass day. It is the “How do I?” day, with implementation sessions that show authors how to set things up. Chelle Honiker and Bradley Charbonneau host both days, and Chelle teaches a track on building your own AI assistant.
The sessions are already mapped. What we are missing is the person to lead each one. Every open session is listed in the form below, and you can apply for the one or two you could teach properly.
AI technology providers are welcome to apply too. A provider session is vendor-neutral: it teaches the problem and compares the options fairly, including options that are not yours.
What we ask of you
- One recording, 30 to 45 minutes. You record it on your own schedule with whatever you already use. Zoom is fine, and you send us the file.
- Your recording by Friday, October 30. That is the one date that matters.
- Specifics worth teaching. Real workflows and real results from your own use. This audience has read plenty of general AI advice.
You do not present live, and you do not need to show up. Chelle or Bradley introduces your session live, your talk plays, and we work the chat alongside attendees.
Nothing is in your calendar for the day itself. You are welcome to come and watch, but nothing depends on it.
Pre-recording exists to protect you. Nothing drops mid-session, and a screen share that misbehaves means a re-record instead of a problem on the day.
Sessions teach. Booths sell.
Every session is educational. That is the promise we make to attendees, and it is the reason they give you forty minutes of their attention.
So we ask you not to pitch from the stage. Referring to your own work where it is genuinely relevant is fine. What we ask you to skip is the sales segment at the end. For a provider session, that also means no product walkthrough: the session covers the category and the decision, and showing the product belongs in a sponsor demo.
If being in front of this audience is the main thing you are after, particularly on Day 1, tell us. Sponsorship is built for that, and Day 1 includes sponsor demos. Email [email protected] and we will send the details.
What you get
Speakers earn a 20% commission on every ticket sold through their affiliate link. You are enrolled automatically, and the link is on your speaker dashboard. There is no obligation to promote it. The PayPal field on the form is where payouts go, and you can leave it blank if you would rather not take part.
You also get a speaker page for your bio and links.
The dates that matter
- October 16
- Decisions go out. If you are selected, you get your session, stage and air time that day.
- October 30
- Your finished recording is due.
- November 20–21
- The summit runs.
How we choose
We match applications to specific sessions rather than filling slots in order. That is why it takes a little time, and why we ask which sessions you want instead of asking you to pitch a topic.
What decides it is whether you can teach that particular session with specifics only you have. If a workflow saved you four hours a chapter, that is worth more than any framework. Pick the sessions where you have that, not the ones that sound closest to your usual talk.
You can choose up to two. Sessions disappear from the list once they are filled, so what you see below is what is open right now.
The speaker agreement
Short, and in plain language. Ticking the box on the form is how you accept it.
Speaker agreement · version 1.0 · October 6, 2026
- Your recording belongs to us.
- Once you send your session in, Indie Author Training owns that recording. We edit it, caption it and transcribe it, and we use it to run and promote the summit both now and afterwards.
- The work is yours to give.
- You made the presentation and you hold the rights to everything in it. If any part of it is licensed from someone else, tell us in writing and send us the license.
- Your session teaches rather than sells.
- This is the same commitment as the checkbox on the form. No pitch from the stage. If you want to show a product to this audience, sponsorship is the route.
- We use your name and likeness to promote your session.
- That covers your name, voice, image and biography, on the summit site and in the promotion around it.
- Your transcript feeds our AI index, and nothing else.
- Every session is transcribed so that ticket holders can search the material and ask questions of it. That index is private to the summit and it belongs to us. Your transcript is not used to train AI models, and we do not sell it or pass it to anyone else for that purpose.
- What you receive.
- A speaker page, and an affiliate link paying 20% on ticket sales.
- If you need to withdraw.
- Tell us as early as you can so the session can be filled.
- If someone challenges the material.
- We will ask you to help us respond, and to show your rights to the work.