Libraries NI Relaunches Popular Learn @ Lunch Series with Screenwriting Focus

Libraries NI Relaunches Popular Learn @ Lunch Series with Screenwriting Focus
Published 06 Nov 2025

Learn At Lunch eventsLibraries NI is delighted to announce the return of its popular Learn @ Lunch online sessions this November, offering a fresh opportunity for creativity and professional development during the working day.

Running every Tuesday and Thursday from 18 November to 18 December (1:00pm – 1:40pm), this free ten-part series invites participants to explore the art and craft of screenwriting with Mary Kate O’Flanagan and Rachel O’Flanagan, two of Europe’s most respected storytelling trainers.

Under the theme “First Principles of Screenwriting,” the sessions will guide participants through the essentials of story structure, scene writing, and analysis, exploring how great screen stories are shaped and refined. Each short session combines teaching, discussion, and practical insight, ideal for anyone curious about how ideas become scripts.

Participants will learn:

●    how writing for the screen differs from other media, e.g. the page and the stage, 
●    what questions to ask to investigate their ideas, as they outline and rewrite and 
●    the step-by-step instructions for how to make each scene a mini masterpiece. 

 You can register for the free series here.

Events

Session Number and title Topic Format: Workshop/Presentation etc
1. Introduction  The Shapes of Stories Presentation with interaction from participants.
2. Structure vs Content  How do they interact, and which is more important?  Presentation with interaction from participants. 
3. The Seven Holy Questions  How to Think About Your Story Before You Start Outlining or Rewriting  Workshop
4. The Sequence Approach  Breaking A Screen Story Down into Chapters Workshop 
5. How to Analyse Work (I) Learning to Learn from The Best Workshop with Screening
6. How to Analyse Work (II) Learning to Learn from The Best Workshop with Screening
7. How to Analyse Work (III) Learning to Learn from The Best Workshop with Screening
8. Writing A Scene The Conventions of Screenwriting Presentation with interaction from participants. 
9. Writing A Scene Learning to Replace Dialogue with Visuals Workshop
10. Writing A Scene Making Each Scene a mini-Masterpiece Workshop


Mary Kate O’Flanagan is an award-winning writer, journalist and storytelling expert who has trained internationally, including with the Professors of Screenwriting at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is also an acclaimed live storyteller, recognised as Ireland’s first Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth.

Rachel O’Flanagan is a writer and script editor with extensive credits across film and television, including Viva, Good Vibrations, and Handsome Devil. She regularly mentors writers and lectures internationally on screenwriting craft and story development.

Together, through their company A Dramatic Improvement, the sisters deliver storytelling training to creative professionals across Europe, the UK, and beyond.

The Learn @ Lunch format allows people to learn something new over their lunch break, no travel, no cost, just a live, interactive session designed to inspire creativity and new ways of thinking.

Jim O’Hagan, Chief Executive of Libraries NI, said:

“Learn @ Lunch is about removing barriers to learning, whether that’s time, cost or confidence. These sessions give people the freedom to explore something new in a relaxed, accessible way. It’s another example of how libraries continue to support lifelong learning and personal development for everyone.”

You can register for the free series here.