She is the author of the essay collections Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman and The Witches Are Coming and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.

[1][2][3][4] In 2009, West began working as the film editor for Seattle's alternative weekly newspaper, The Stranger.

One of the most distinctive voices advancing feminist politics through humor, West is behind a handful of popular pieces — "How to Make a Rape Joke" on Jezebel, "Hello, I Am Fat" on The Stranger’s blog, "Ask Not for Whom the Bell Trolls; It Trolls for Thee" on "This American Life" — that have helped shift mainstream attitudes about body image, comedy and online harassment over the past several years.

"[18][19] Also in 2013, Kurt Metzger feuded with West and Jude Doyle via Facebook and Twitter during a defense of rape humor.

[24][25][26][27][28][29] In 2016, West won The Stranger's Genius Award in Literature for her book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman.

[1] On March 15, 2019, Shrill, the television series adaptation of West's memoir starring Aidy Bryant, premiered on Hulu.