LaToya Watkins' debut novel Perish is published by Tiny Reparations Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House launched in July 2020 with the goal of highlighting diverse voices that are often shut out of mainstream publishing. The project is a joint venture by Christine Ball, senior vice president of the publishers Berkley and Dutton, and Phoebe Robinson, a comedian, author, producer and actress perhaps best known for her podcast and HBO series 2 Dope Queens. Robinson summarizes the imprint's mission: "We are looking for queer, Black, Indigenous, people of color and neurodiverse writers, not only to publish them, but to launch their careers. We want them to have the experience of being appreciated and seen."

In a 2021 interview with Refinery29, Robinson explained that she had difficulty finding a publisher for her first essay collection, You Can't Touch My Hair (2016). "People just felt so comfortable telling my agent, 'Oh, this book will never sell. People aren't interested in ...