Nichole Perkins is an American poet, writer, and podcaster. Perkins co-hosted the podcast ''

Thirst Aid Kit ''Thirst Aid Kit'' is a podcast about celebrity lust and sexual desire hosted by journalist Bim Adewunmi and writer Nichole Perkins. The podcast premiered on November 1, 2017, and the finale episode aired on September 17, 2020. It was officia ...

'' with

Bim Adewunmi Bim Adewunmi is a British writer and journalist. She is a producer for ''This American Life'' and previously worked as a culture writer at BuzzFeed and ''The Guardian''. She co-hosted the podcast ''Thirst Aid Kit'' with writer Nichole Perkins ( ...

(2017-2020). She is the author of the poetry collection ''Lilith, But Dark'' (2018) and the memoir '' Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be'' (2021).

Life and career

Perkins was born and raised in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Tennessee. Growing up she was an avid reader of books by authors such as

Beverly Cleary Beverly or Beverley may refer to: Places Australia * Beverley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Beverley, Western Australia, a town * Shire of Beverley, Western Australia Canada * Beverly, Alberta, a town that amalgamated with the City ...

and Mildred Taylor. She also began reading romance novels during childhood. She received her bachelor's degree from

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

, an

HBCU Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Perkins relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 2017 to pursue a professional writing career after receiving an Emerging Writers Fellowship at

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet mass media, media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John Seward Johnson III, John S. Johnson III to ...

. She published personal essays as a part of the fellowship and drafted many essays that would later be included in her memoir. In that position she and her colleague

started the podcast ''

'' after bonding over their shared enjoyment of discussing celebrity crushes. The podcast, which debuted in 2017, received positive reception and was called "an instant serotonin boost" by Justine Goode for ''Vanity Fair''. The hosts decided to retire ''Thirst Aid Kit'' in 2020. Perkins published her first book, a poetry collection called ''Lilith, But Dark,'' in 2018 under Publishing Genius.

Amber Tamblyn Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and author. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the p ...

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."'' She released '' Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be'' on August 17, 2021 under

Grand Central Publishing Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Kinney National Company acquired the New York City-based Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publis ...

. The book, the majority of which she wrote after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, 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. The title comes from a lyric in the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

song "

If I Was Your Girlfriend "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is a song by American singer and songwriter Prince. The song serves as the second single from his ninth studio album '' Sign o' the Times'' (1987). The single was a hit in the UK (#20) but was only a minor hit in America ...

." The book received positive reception from outlets such as ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', ''Bitch'', and others. In 2021 Perkins started the podcast ''This Is Good For You'' that explores various things that bring joy and pleasure. She plans to release a romance novel sometime in the next few years.

Personal life

Perkins resides in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Works

Books

* *

Podcasts

* ''

'' (2017–2020). Co-hosted with

. * ''This Is Good For You'' (2021–present). * ''The Prince Mixtape'' (2023)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Nichole Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers African-American women writers Writers from Nashville, Tennessee American feminist writers American women podcasters American podcasters American women poets African-American feminists Dillard University alumni