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I am a postdoc fellow and my abstract has been accepted for present at an international conference. I also paid the registration fee and now my name is on schedule of talks. Unfortunately, I was informed that the provider of my scholarship has already canceled the travel grants for all postdocs (because of shortage of money). Due to long distance between the country where I am staying and the country where the conference will be held, therefore, the price of tickets is too high and I will not able to buy the ticket on my money. On the other hand, I believe that having a presentation in this conference will have an excellent effect on my C.V. Is it possible to ask the conference to keep my abstract in their book of abstracts if I can not go there?

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    Well, you won't actually present it, unless you can arrange a video hookup (which has been done in the past).
    – Jon Custer
    Jul 3, 2019 at 15:21
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    Bear in mind as well that sometimes organizers of conferences can also provide grants.
    – optimal control
    Jul 3, 2019 at 15:34
  • The accepted answer is sensible. But if time permits, also look for other sources of funding!
    – Flyto
    Jul 3, 2019 at 17:42
  • Dependending on the country/town try explaining the situation addressing a letter to the mayor. The town might have some money. I did it successfully few times. Once the money came from the mayor, once from a youth & sport department, and once from the governor. It won't work in my country, simply because the letter won't even get attention. But there are better places. Worth a try.
    – Alchimista
    Jul 4, 2019 at 11:22

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It may be possible, actually, to do more. You might ask if a remote presentation can be arranged. This is possible for some conferences, but would require some setup on your end as well, perhaps in coordination with the university.

But for your actual question, yes, you can ask and explain the circumstances. Some conferences will say yes, some will say no, and some will have other suggestions. But it would be a mistake not to open a conversation with the conference committee.

Note also that not showing up without notice will probably result in the worst possible outcome.

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