Join Free DC's Popular Education working group in conversation with Be Steadwell, local author of Chocolate Chip City.

Singer-songwriter and filmmaker Be Steadwell’s lyrical debut is Practical Magic meets Black Cake in this warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about three sisters, a vision of princes, true love, and revolution, and one very complicated year of self-realization, family dynamics, and learning to let go.

Be (they/them, Be) is a queer pop composer and author from Washington DC.  Be's goal as an artist is to write love stories centering Black girlies, introverts and weirdos.

Be earned a BA in Black Studies from Oberlin College and an MFA in film from Howard University.  Be's short films Vow of Silence and Black Tea (2025) screened in film festivals around the world. In 2021 Be released their pop and R&B album- Succulent.  In 2023, Be joined the cast of Parable of the Sower the Opera by Toshi Reagon and Dr Bernice Johnson Reagon. Be released their debut romance novel Chocolate Chip City in 2025.  Be currently lives in Baltimore.  They tour their music and work as an adjunct lecturer at Howard University.