Betty Stephen
Betty M. Stephen is an award-winning author, playwright, poet, and scriptwriter who has dedicated her life to exploring the depth of human experience through creative expression. A passionate and prolific writer, she first discovered her gift for storytelling in junior high school when she was nominated by her history teacher to write and perform an original play centered on the Women’s Liberation Movement. Her production won grand prize, earning her a trip to tour the U.S. Capitol, and shortly thereafter she was invited to recite her original poetry on the stage of the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City. These early achievements marked the beginning of a lifelong journey in the literary and performing arts.
Over the years, Betty has authored several published works, including poetry collections and novels, while continuing to develop new scripts and theatrical productions. Mentored by acclaimed artistic leaders in the theater community, she has worked to bring thought-provoking stories to life for diverse audiences. As the founder and publisher of Born To Fly Publications, she now oversees the release of her creative projects, which range from bilingual novels to stage plays currently in development. Her work is widely recognized for its emotional depth, cultural relevance, and commitment to addressing themes of empowerment, resilience, and social awareness.
Before devoting herself fully to writing, Betty enjoyed a distinguished career as a legal administrative assistant, serving for nearly four decades before retiring to pursue her creative ambitions full time. Today, she channels her experience, discipline, and passion into producing impactful literary and dramatic works, often writing late into the night when inspiration strikes. Guided by values of persistence, inclusivity, mentorship, and self-belief, Betty continues to inspire others through her storytelling while building a lasting legacy in the worlds of literature, theater, and publishing.
• Lehman College
• McKinsey Academy - M.B.A.
• New York University
• 2C Radio Entertainment Award
• Peachtree Award for writing
• Five different author writing awards
• Grand Prize in New York City Public Schools Writing Contest
• Toastmasters
• Black Leadership Network
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to persistence, a deep passion for writing, and the confidence to believe in myself even through setbacks. Early encouragement from a teacher, meaningful mentorship — particularly from Reg E. Gaines — and completing professional development programs such as the McKinsey Academy have also played an important role in my journey.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say to keep writing. You're gonna get a whole lot of no's before you get a yes. Be passionate and you believe in yourself, because you have to believe in yourself first. More than any time. If you're truly passionate about what you're doing, keep going. No matter who supports you, no matter who doesn't support you, you have to keep going and believe that you have a gift that you could offer the world. I didn't always believe that initially, but the more I kept writing, the more I kept sharing with different people, Black, white, some of the executive teams at work, I've shared stuff that I've read with them, and they were just blown away. So, with that being said, you have to keep going, because everybody has a group of people that we can and have to reach. And you must be passionate. Your passion will drive you to your destiny.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would have to say, with regard to the writing, I want to reach a broad group of people. Some people feel, I'm a Black author, so they think I only draw Black audiences. And that's not what I want for myself. I wanna be able to reach different people of different ethnicities and nationalities and what have you. Because we're all different, but we're all the same. I guarantee a character I write about, someone of Caucasian background can identify, even though it's about a Black character. That's definitely what I want.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in both my work and personal life are passion, self-belief, inclusivity, mentorship, and using my experiences to uplift and help others grow.