On 16th September 2021, WGI hosted The Art of The Pitch with Mary Kate O Flanagan.

Mary Kate O Flanagan shared her philosophy that The Art of The Pitch is not only about finding champions for your work – it’s about clarifying your vision. Once you have done that, you can communicate the essence of your idea and it will be clear and compelling. 

It is her belief that even the shyest writers are well able to become adept at pitching while staying true to our own voices. She communicated some guidelines on pitching  – on the page and in person.

The WGI gratefully acknowledges the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland for this event.

Mary Kate O Flanagan is an award-winning writer and story consultant working in the film and television industry. She works with writers in The UK, The US, South Africa, and across Europe. She has designed and delivered training in Storytelling On The Screen all  over the world as well as in her native Ireland. 

With her sister Rachel O’Flanagan, she gives training in the storytelling skills for people in  all walks of life as well as in cinema and television. They are particularly interested in the stories people (and nations and entities) tell about themselves and how those stories inevitably shape their futures. You can see more about their work here.

Mary Kate was Ireland’s First Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth. She was also a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Los Angeles and a Champion Storyteller at The Dublin StorySlam.  You can hear one of her stories on The Moth Radio Hour here.

Since the lockdown Mary Kate has been delivering a popular series of online courses on screenwriting and scenewriting. You can see her Autumn programme here.