Smiley has written 19 books. His memoir, What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America, became a New York Times Bestseller, and the book he edited, Covenant with Black America, became the first nonfiction book by a Black-owned publisher to reach #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.

In the New York Times Bestseller, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto, Smiley and his co-author Dr. Cornel West challenge all Americans to re-examine their assumptions about poverty in America—what it really is and how to eradicate it.

His most recent text is My Journey with Maya, a remarkable story of friendship, love and courage. In this book, Smiley shares personal memories of his twenty-eight year friendship with Maya Angelou, one of history’s most fascinating women.

My Journey With Maya is being adapted as a stage play by Tony-winning director Kenny Leon, and Smiley's 2014 New York Times Bestseller, Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Final Year, is being produced as a television series special by Emmy-winner J.J. Abrams in partnership with Warner Brothers.

The nonprofit Tavis Smiley Foundation is in the midst of a $3 million four-year campaign called ENDING POVERTY: America’s Silent Spaces to alleviate endemic poverty in America.

TIME magazine has cited Smiley as one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People,” and Mr. Smiley has been honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Read Less ^