How to Book Hilary Mason for a Speaking Engagement — and What She Covers

Updated

To inquire about booking Hilary Mason, use the "Book me to speak" link on hilarymason.com; the same page links to "See talks & book me" for her recent talks. Her speaking focus is AI products that actually ship — building AI products that survive contact with reality. The site lists recent stages including GDC 2026, QCon AI New York, dev/ai/nyc, and gamescom congress, so event organizers can judge fit from those appearances before reaching out.

What she speaks about

The site frames her talks around one core theme: AI products that actually ship. That phrasing appears in the "Recent stages" section, where the listed talks are described as being on "AI products that actually ship." Her broader positioning — "I build beautiful things at the edge of what's technically possible" — and her role as co-founder and CEO of Hidden Door, where the team is "teaching machines to tell stories," suggest the talks draw on hands-on product building rather than abstract theory.

For an organizer, the practical read is:

  • Topic fit: audiences working on applied AI, product development, or the gap between AI demos and production systems.
  • Format signals: the listed venues (a game developers conference, an AI engineering conference, a local dev/AI meetup, and a games industry congress) span both technical and industry audiences.
  • Credibility markers: the site lists WIRED, Fortune 40 Under 40, MIT Technology Review, Forbes, Variety, TechCrunch, and The Verge.

The booking path on the site

The homepage presents three distinct ways to engage, each with its own link:

Path What it's for Entry point on the page
Speaking Talks on AI products that ship "Book me to speak" and "See talks & book me →"
Advising A limited number of board and advisory roles for teams thinking about technical transformation holistically "Work with me" / "How that works →"
Writing Twenty years of notes on data and machines, restored and datestamped "Read the archive →"

If your goal is a conference or event slot, the speaking path is the right one — the advising path is explicitly described as limited and aimed at board and advisory roles, not event bookings.

What to include in a booking inquiry

The site does not publish a booking form, fee schedule, or lead time, so those details have to come from the response to your inquiry. A useful first message covers:

  1. Event and date — name, location, and whether it is in person or remote.
  2. Audience — who attends and roughly how many, so the topic can be pitched at the right level.
  3. Requested topic — say explicitly that you are interested in the "AI products that actually ship" theme, and note any angle specific to your industry (games, developer tooling, enterprise product).
  4. Format and length — keynote, fireside chat, panel, or workshop.
  5. Logistics — travel, honorarium or budget range, and any recording or publication plans.

Because the site gives no pricing or availability signals, treat budget and scheduling as open questions rather than assumptions.

Checking fit before you write

Before sending an inquiry, review the talks listed under "Recent stages." The four named venues — GDC 2026, QCon AI New York, dev/ai/nyc, and gamescom congress — tell you the kinds of rooms she has recently spoken in. If your event is a developer conference, an AI engineering summit, or a games-industry gathering, those are direct precedents. If your event is in a different sector, use the "See talks & book me" link to check the fuller list and confirm the topic maps onto your audience.

For background on her current role and what the site covers overall, the About page holds the longer story — earlier jobs, the hackerspace, and the books — which is useful if you need a speaker bio for your event program.