[9] She cites among her literary inspirations Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Bassey Ikpi, and Tyrese Coleman.
[10] Philyaw's first book, Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households After Divorce, was written in collaboration with her ex-husband, Michael D. Thomas, and published in May 2013.
[12][13] Writing in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Marion Winik said “Juicy goodness bursts from every page of Deesha Philyaw's debut short story collection.
[19] Philyaw has written a series of columns for The Rumpus, titled Visible: Women Writers of Color[20] and for Literary Mama,[21] The Girl is Mine.
[10] In 2021, Philyaw appeared on Storybound (podcast) reading an excerpts from her book, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, with music sampled from Gil Assayas of GLASYS.