John Yorke Story

Name

John Yorke Story

Legal name

John Yorke Story

Website

https://johnyorkestory.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Writing & Storytelling Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development (EDAGAKAC), Institutional & Custom Publishing (Coursepacks, Campus/Corporate Training) (MPAJABAL), Educational & Instructional Nonfiction (MPADADAL)

Keywords

• Storytelling training courses
• Screenwriting education
• Narrative design training
• Creative writing coaching
• Corporate communication training

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Development Courses: Individual CPD-accredited online courses for creative professionals. Courses range from 4-17 weeks with pricing from £595 to £1,900. Payment plans available with down payments and monthly installments.
2. Bespoke Corporate Training: Customized story training packages for organizations, delivered online, in-person, or hybrid. Includes block-booking of existing courses with custom branding or fully bespoke learning experiences tailored to organizational objectives.
3. Book Sales - Into the Woods: John Yorke's first book 'Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them' has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide. Published by Penguin, required reading on all UK university writing courses.
4. Book Sales - Trip to the Moon: John Yorke's follow-up book 'Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power of Story' published by Penguin in January 2026. Available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

John Yorke Story delivers CPD-accredited online training courses and bespoke corporate training in storytelling, founded on John Yorke's proprietary five-act structure methodology. Courses span film & TV (screenwriting, script development, documentary, showrunning, production accounting), video games, novels, podcasts, and business communications, with published books (Into the Woods, Trip to the Moon) serving as foundational texts.

Product overview

John Yorke Story is a premium CPD-accredited storytelling education company offering a portfolio of online courses, bespoke training services, and published works. The core offering is the Story Training programme, encompassing courses across Film & TV (screenwriting, script development, documentary, production accounting, showrunning), Video Games, Novels, Podcasts, and Business Communications. All training is underpinned by John Yorke's proprietary Five-Act Structure Framework, derived from his bestselling book Into the Woods. The company also offers Bespoke Training for organisations seeking tailored story training, one-to-one Mentoring services, and maintains an Online Alumni Community for graduates. Two published books—Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon—serve as foundational texts for the methodology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Story Training (CPD Story Training) Premium online professional development training for individuals and teams learning how to tell compelling stories, based on the five-act structure methodology outlined in John Yorke's book Into the Woods. CPD-certified.
• Story for Screenwriting: Advanced Structure A 17-week advanced course teaching the essential building blocks every successful story needs and how to develop an industry-standard treatment for original TV, film or stage scripts. Price: £900.
• Running the Show (Showrunner Training) A 9-week advanced training programme on the art and business of leading a scripted TV show, covering managing writers, production budgets, crisis management, and creative leadership. Price: £1,900.
• Introduction to Film/TV Production Accounting A 4-week beginner course providing an overview of the roles, functions and purpose of the accounting team on UK film and TV productions. Price: £595.
• Step Up to Production Accountant An advanced 8-week course for experienced professionals to gain knowledge and confidence to advance to production accountant or financial controller roles. Price: £1,200.
• Story for Documentary & Unscripted TV A 7-week course training participants to recognise the structure underlying successful factual stories and how to shape material for documentaries, format shows, podcasts, and corporate videos.
• Story for Script Development A course training script editors and development professionals to identify issues with scripts, solve key story problems, and craft constructive notes for writers using five-act structure principles.
• Story for Video Games An 8-week industry training course helping participants master story principles for video games, craft memorable protagonists, and effectively merge story with gameplay.
• Write Your Novel in Five Acts A course teaching novelists to apply the principles of dramatic storytelling and five-act structure to write a commercially successful novel.
• Story for Pitch Decks Course teaching how to present and pitch ideas to industry executives using storytelling techniques.
• Story for Podcasts Course teaching the story elements that make podcasts engaging and unmissable for audiences.
• Story for Communications Course using the science and psychology of storytelling to motivate, engage and unite employees within organisations.
• Story for Business Pitch Decks Course teaching participants to sell business ideas using storytelling techniques to stand out in competitive markets.
• Bespoke Training Customized story training tailored to organisation-specific learning objectives or based around working projects, delivered online, in-person, or as blended learning.
• One-to-One Mentoring Individual mentoring sessions with industry experts, particularly Matt Telfer for script development, offering detailed written notes and Zoom consultations for writers and editors. £495 (inc VAT) per session.
• Into the Woods John Yorke's bestselling book exploring how and why all stories share a universal structure, based on five-act narrative principles; required reading on UK university writing courses. Over 250,000 copies sold worldwide.
• Trip to the Moon John Yorke's 2026 follow-up book exploring story power beyond structure, examining how stories shape culture, politics, religion and influence lives. Published by Penguin in January 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% of BBC Writers Academy alumni still working in industry 20 years after inception
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• ScreenSkillscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScreenSkills supports selected JYS courses as approved training for the UK's screen-based creative industries. Students may be eligible for ScreenSkills training bursaries when taking supported courses.
• BBC Studios Writers AcademyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by John Yorke in 2005 to train new screenwriting talent in the UK. The Academy has produced a generation of successful screenwriters with nominations and wins for BAFTA, RTS, Golden Globe, Emmy and Oscar Awards. Alumni include writers on Killing Eve, The Crown, Doctor Who, and many other acclaimed shows.
• Scribe LoungeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAs part of the partnership, Story for Screenwriting course alumni receive two months of free Scribe Lounge Pro membership. Scribe Lounge is the UK's fastest growing screenwriting network.
• New Writing NorthminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party training bursary partner offering funding opportunities for JYS courses to eligible applicants in the North of England.
• European Speechwriters NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Yorke works as a story consultant for the European Speechwriters Network, applying narrative principles to business communications and speechwriting.
• Market Research SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Yorke provides story consulting services for the Market Research Society, helping researchers communicate findings more effectively through narrative techniques.
• Freemantle MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Yorke works as a story consultant for Freemantle Media, one of the largest international creators, producers, and distributors of multi-genre entertainment brands.
• VerizonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Yorke provides story consulting services for Verizon, applying narrative expertise to corporate communications and storytelling.
• OgilvycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Yorke works as a story consultant for Ogilvy, the global advertising and communications firm, helping teams apply story principles to creative work.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stage 32: Online community and education platform for screenwriters, filmmakers, and TV professionals. Direct competitor in online screenwriting courses and industry networking, with a larger but less curated community.
• MasterClass: Subscription-based premium creative education taught by celebrity practitioners across writing, film, and TV. Closest peer in business model (premium storytelling instruction from industry experts) with broader category coverage and significantly greater scale.
• Faber Academy: Writing school run by publisher Faber & Faber offering courses in novel, short story, and narrative non-fiction. UK-based peer for fiction and narrative writing students, with comparable premium positioning and publisher-backed credibility.
• Raindance Film School: UK-based independent film school offering screenwriting, directing, and producing courses. Direct competitor for the same pool of aspiring UK screenwriters and filmmakers, particularly on the film/TV vertical.
• Curtis Brown Creative: UK-based novel writing school operated by leading literary agency Curtis Brown. Direct competitor for aspiring novelists seeking structured, agent-connected writing courses, with strong UK market overlap.
• Save the Cat: Blake Snyder's story structure methodology, books, and workshops. Most direct methodological peer to John Yorke's five-act framework, competing for screenwriters seeking structural storytelling frameworks taught by a celebrity author.

Emerging players

• Story District: Storytelling training and coaching organisation offering workshops and corporate storytelling programmes. Emerging peer with overlap in business communications and story training verticals, particularly for corporate clients.
• The Black List: Script discovery and professional platform serving screenwriters, with paid evaluation services and industry connections. Adjacent peer in the screenwriting professional services ecosystem, monetising industry access rather than teaching methodology.

Broad incumbents

• National Film and Television School (NFTS): UK's primary film and TV postgraduate school. Already a JYS partner (NFTS hosts John York's Screen Arts talks), NFTS is a structural incumbent with overlapping screenwriting curriculum and a different delivery model (full-time degree programmes vs short courses).
• Sundance Institute: Established US non-profit film training organisation with labs, fellowships, and online workshops for screenwriters. Broader and more established, but serves an overlapping screenwriting talent audience with comparable narrative training offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/johnyorkestory
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZ0L7ZfIFbXOKS3J5cM2X3Q
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/john-yorke-story

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about John Yorke Story