[2] Phillips is also an author of young adult fiction, whose first book Fishtailing won the 2010 Governor General's Award for children's literature.
She was the 2010 winner of the Governor General's Literary Awards for Children's Literature in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Fishtailing follows the lives of four fictional Vancouver high school students; Natalie, Tricia, Miguel and Kyle.
The book switches perspectives between the four characters, showing how they interact and deal with violence, bullying and their desires to fit in.
[2] As a Librarian and teacher, Phillips was exposed to both the positive diversity of different cultures of a multicultural society, as well as the negative experiences students' bear at home that affect their school and social behaviour.
The character Natalie is based on a student that Phillips has taught, someone who is a good writer, charismatic but was isolated to her peers.
Some of the traits Mrs.Farr has are based on Phillips herself such as using big words when in an uncomfortable conflict and the way Mrs.Farr gives criticism to her students about their work.
[6] The title of the book is influenced from a trip that Phillips made through Coquihalla which is in British Columbia Highway 5.
Young adults' writers that have influenced Phillips include Martha Brooks, Budge Wilson, and Susan Juby.
Phillips' has also been influenced by Sharon Creech, Robert Koertje, Pamela, Porter, Sonya Sones, and Karen Hesse on verse novels.