Story Academy

19/03/2026

We have lost two people who meant so much to the world of storytelling, and to us at Story Academy.

Linda Seger was a pioneer in script consulting. Her books and lectures have shaped generations of screenwriters around the world. She was there from the very first class at Story Academy, standing in front of the room with that same energy she brought everywhere, and anyone who saw her among the raukar on Fårö, surrounded by students, knows she lit up everything around her. That was Linda.

Katie Fong Yoenda was an executive producer and one of the most generous teachers we have ever had. She stood at the front of the room, sat down with the students one by one, and was fully present each time. Watching her help someone pitch their story, you immediately understood why she was so loved.

Both of them leave behind something that doesn’t go away. In the stories that have been written. Among the people who were in the room. In us.

Rest in peace, Linda and Katie. 🕊️

11/12/2025

Time to wrap up the fall. What a season it has been. We’ve had a fantastic lineup of lecturers and instructors from both the international scene and the Swedish industry.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this fall such a memorable one. Here’s to continued creativity, inspiration and powerful storytelling.

03/11/2025

Huge congratulations to Story Academy alumna Nine Selander on her debut novel Blind Tiger!
A thrilling story with a brilliant concept – make sure to get your copy and read it!

We’re so proud to see our alumni share bold, original stories with the world.

29/10/2025

Congratulations to Story Academy alumna Maria Lundström!
We’re thrilled to celebrate Maria, writer and director at MaryLuFilms, who just won the Uppsala Short Film Pitch Award 2025 and a 50,000 SEK grant from the Swedish Film Institute for her upcoming short film Gunnar & Greta.

Jury’s Motivation:

“With a poignant framing narrative that opens the door to the sorrow of the past, we are invited to follow a 13-year-old’s exploration of an event that came to shape her entire life. The filmmaker’s pitch and vision genuinely sparked our curiosity and desire to see this film and to witness what might have happened on the fateful day when her grandparents took their own lives.”

Maria shared her gratitude with us:

“That I even dared to apply for the pitch — and that it went so well — I owe so much to Bob’s pitch training. It was fantastic to get the chance to practice so much and then do a real pitch. Invaluable!”

We’re incredibly proud to see your courage and storytelling shine, Maria.
Your journey from Story Masterclass to this well-deserved recognition is a true inspiration.

26/09/2025

Writers room for the next series is in full swing with Story 2, today we got our thinking hats on! 💡

/Story 2

29/05/2025

🎉 Story Academy fyller 15 år!
Sveriges mest ambitiösa manusutbildning firar med pitchdag och jubileum på Filmhuset i Stockholm 🎬

📅 4 juni kl. 09.00–12.00
📍 Bio Mauritz, Filmhuset

Välkommen att ta del av ett trettiotal originella film- och tv-projekt från Sveriges mest lovande manusförfattare, utbildade av handledare från bl.a. The Last of Us, Avengers: Endgame och Tunna blå linjen.

🔗 Gratis biljett via länken i bio!

25/04/2025

At Story Academy, you’ll be guided by some of the most influential voices in the industry—directors, showrunners, producers, editors, and story coaches who’ve shaped some of the world’s most compelling stories. Applications are now open for our two-year Screenwriting Program and Screenwriting Masterclass. If you’re ready to take your storytelling to a professional level—this is your moment.

24/03/2025

Thank you Jen.

TEACHING SCREENWRITING FOR A CLASS IN SWEDEN
I just finished teaching this week at Story Academy by Gotlands Folkhogskola. We conducted our classes online. It is incredible to teach courses to students for whom English isn’t their first language and witness them come alive with their stories! I loved every minute of it. After hearing the story instructions for three days, participating in exercises where they delved deep into their emotions, watching clips, and engaging in the Q&A, they had the opportunity to pitch and discuss their struggles with writing on the last day. The concepts for their stories are brilliant and heartwarming. I loved hearing the depth, humor, darkness, originality, and complexity. Observing the arc of growth from Day 1 to Day 4 is so rewarding!

This is my sixth year of teaching for this top school. I want to thank Arvid Unsgaard and Soni Jorgensen for introducing me to Arvid.

11/03/2025

Inspiring Q/A with Steven Canals & Neil Landau

We had the honor of hosting a Q/A moderated by the excellent Neil Landau, featuring the creator and showrunner of the TV series POSE – Steven Canals. Fun fact: Steven was once a student of Neil Landau at UCLA.

Steven was incredibly humble and inspiring. POSE is a phenomenal series – a powerful story set in New York’s ballroom culture of the ’80s and ’90s, highlighting love, resilience, and identity. If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it.

We left the session fired up with inspiration.

A huge thank you to both Steven and Neil.

03/03/2025

Two hours with set designer Masako Masuda—an inspiring deep dive into the journey from script to screen. With credits including Jurassic Park, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Avengers: Endgame, and Glass Onion, Masuda shared her creative process, offering insight into how the art department brings stories to life. She also broke down a scene from one of our students, demonstrating how design choices shape storytelling. A masterclass in visual storytelling.

17/02/2025

Lecture with Billy Mernit, Story Analyst at Universal Pictures, who contributed to developing films like Get Out and Bridesmaids, has read over 15,000 professional scripts. If anyone knows what works on the page, it’s him.
In this lecture, he discusses what’s okay to put in a script, debunking myths like ’avoid writing emotions’ when done with purpose. There’s so much noise about what you can and can’t write, but according to Billy, the best writers break those so-called rules—with intention.
All A-list screenwriters ”direct” on the page. For example, in Get Out, the tension is heightened through subtle descriptions of characters’ expressions and movements, guiding the reader through the emotional beats of the scene. They write emotions and guide the reader through a scene—but they do it with restraint. The goal? Make the reader feel. If the audience connects with the character, all tools are fair game.
One key insight he shared was the importance of knowing the POV character in a scene—the character through whose eyes we experience the moment.
This is what we learn here at Story Academy—how to write like professional screenwriters.