[3] Perkins relocated to New York City in 2017 to pursue a professional writing career after receiving an Emerging Writers Fellowship at BuzzFeed.
[4] In that position she and her colleague Bim Adewunmi started the podcast Thirst Aid Kit after bonding over their shared enjoyment of discussing celebrity crushes.
[6] The podcast, which debuted in 2017, received positive reception and was called "an instant serotonin boost" by Justine Goode for Vanity Fair.
[4][8] Amber Tamblyn wrote in a review for Bust, "Nichole Perkins has written a beautifully aching and illuminating portrait of a Black woman’s life in her essential collection, Lilith, But Dark.
[4] The book, the majority of which she wrote after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,[10] is a memoir and essay collection that combines Perkins’ reflections on pop culture in connection to her life experiences ranging from past relationships, mental health, family dynamics, and sexuality.