DEAR WRITER: I host a cannabis inspired literary salon & here's how it went for 2024

Hey Writer,

There are so many ways to give back to the world of letters and be a good literary citizen. I’ve taught, edited for free or cheap, volunteered, wrote for free, tutored, organized book drives, you name it.

Currently, I have chosen the path of books and weed—the healing power of cannabis and the magic of storytelling.

It’s a hard destiny, but someone had to do it ;)

I started The Lit Club as Women, Writing, Weed & Wine in 2021.

It was mostly my bookish and creative friends who showed up for that Zoom during lockdown 2021—and I’ve had the pleasure to smoke, write, and create alongside even more friends since then.

I ran Women, Writing, Weed and Wine online every first Saturday online from 2021-2023. We studied writers from Raven Leilani to Banana Yoshimoto. We had writer Bowie Rowan teach a powerful writing activity inspired by instruction manuals and had Deesha Philyaw as an online salon guest who inspired everyone with her words about protecting art.

The first in-person event was a sold-out event at The Salt Eaters Bookshop on 420 2023. It was a beautiful, tender event where we ate good food, drank good wine, talked about The Secret Life of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, and then the cops randomly shut it down with ten minutes to go. Our gift bags were sponsored by CANN, Pure Beauty, Her Highness NYC, Abiola Abrams, Mina Aidoo, and Black Girl Bliss. I want to thank everyone who came out and for The Salt Eaters Bookshop who took a chance on a random book and weed loving writer.

On August 29th 2023, I had a release party for Puff Puff, a cannabis inspired magazine inspired by all our inner teen girls and unicorns and daydreams. There was a curated puff puff bar (puff puff is also the name of a Nigerian/African dessert) and a reading by Tanya Shirazi Galvez. We had cute gift bags sponsored by Gelato and OMI Bodycare and we had independent bookstore vendors (Ripped Bodice and Octavia’s Bookshelf) and cannabis brands like Queen Mary, Cannakits, and Dihani.

Fans of The Last Unicorn will understand the Editor’s Letter

From October 2023 to July 2024, I hosted Flower Hour, a cannabis coworking/writers’ cafe at The Artist Tree in West Hollywood. We wrote to writing prompts, journaled, colored, made art, sampled incredible weed, ate well, talked about our roses/thorns/buds, and came together every Wednesday from 12-4 pm. I want to send a big thank you to the Flower Hour regulars, The Artist Tree, and anyone who came out.

Madison creating her psychedelic masterpieces.

On July 22nd, 2024, I hosted a mini demo of Legalize Lit, a banned book fair celebrating words and weed at WYIIOW. Small, cute, with mini-zines all dedicated to Octavia Butler (June 22nd is her birthday). I also paired WYIIOW’s products with three of Butler’s books and talked about their commonalities.

And on September 8th I finally released Honey Is the Knife with goodies from Garden Society and Nasha.

I started hosting The Lit Club regularly in person starting March 2024. Our budtender/sponsor for most of the events was Garden Society and Pop-Hop Books and Print was our loyal “booktender”. This means we had the pleasure of pairing our books with really good, conscious cannabis and every book sold came from a independent bookstore which loves on the community it serves hard.

Our 2024 books:

March- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

April - Excavation by Wendy C. Ortiz

May - I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

June - Summer Break

July - Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

August - Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

September - Honey Is the Knife release party

October - You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

November — The Worst Kind of Girl by Susan Rukeyser

December - Honey Is the Knife by yours truly

To date, The Lit Club has hosted 78 events with 268 guests. Our events are typically intimate (our biggest event was 30 people) and I’m incredibly proud and so blessed. The vast majority of the books/writing featured at events is authored by women and nonbinary writers because “when a woman tells her truth/the world splits open” (a paraphrase of the Muriel Spark quote). I’ve loved the connections, the shared space, the food, the good vibes, and getting to meet so many amazing people.

I want to keep this ride going as long as possible, because if there’s anything this world needs it’s plant medicine, healing, books, and the power of people coming together to share and listen to stories. I mean, it’s just a no brainer: relaxation and empathy and art? Don’t mind if I do…

So, I’m not going anywhere, but I am slowing down and allowing myself to be more supported because this whole enterprise has been bootstrapped and I’m ready to expand The Lit Club with love, care, and partnerships that keep this community grounded in a love of weeds and words. I’m a full-time writer and newly (self) published author and I want to make sure I am nurturing and protecting my creativity because if I do not—who will?

So, I’m getting clear about what The Lit Club needs to be sustainable and sexy and I’m asking the Universe for just that (and a nice fat cherry on top.)

If you’re a writer who’s into weed (because if you’re not into words, you’re kind of in the absolute worst profession) or you like cannabis/stoner culture and art and good vibes:

Here’s the 2025 Lit Club Calendar.

And here’s where to RSVP for the Lit Club Salons (which will still be every first Sunday from 4-6 pm) in a secret-ish art living room space in Lincoln Heights.

Okay, so basically I told you all that to say:

You can do anything you want. And starting where you are is the only requirement.
Move towards what you love and what loves you and know that your whatever you are able to offer is more than enough when it comes to being a “good literary citizen”. You can read books, suggest books, have a podcast, support a bookstore, interview writers, donate to a writer, donate to literary organizations, volunteer, tutor, read to kids, work at a lit mag, request books at your library, read slowly, watch movie adaptations of books, teach, host book drives, edit, host a book club (the weirder and more niche, the better), write really well, sponsor a cannabis-inspired literary salon in Los Angeles headed by a writer, Black woman Coast Guard veteran. But you know, no pressure. Basically: find out what you can give and give that and know that you will receive so much more. Your actions matter no matter how “big” or “small”.
I am unlearning a tendency to obsess over “vanity metrics”. I will not lie—running a cannabis and book business is not easy. All the dumb censorship and regressive laws. All the racism and sexism. All the imposter syndrome. And sometimes, I’ve had zero RSVPs, or one person has signed up and not showed, or one person has shown up on Zoom. And I would create a story in my mind about “not enough” and then when I had to sit down and really measure and think about what all of this added up to, I was shocked at the magnitude and reminded of the power of connection. Basically, what you do counts.