Julian Assange Book Deal: Assange to Keep WikiLeaks Afloat With New Book | ThirdAge: "Julian Assange, the controversial head of secret-document release website WikiLeaks, has signed a book deal worth more than $1 million to pay his organization's legal bills.

Assange told The Sunday Times in London that the book would be an autobiography. He reportedly signed a deal with Alfred A. Knopf for $800,000 and with Canongate books for $500,000. Knopf is an imprint of Random House publications based in the U.S.

Assange says he has been under house arrest in an English mansion waiting to attend hearings on allegations of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion until Jan. 11. He told the British paper due to his circumstances he needs to write the book to keep his website afloat."

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Now Making $86k/year - World Watch - CBS News: "WikiLeaks' main financial arm, the Germany-based Wau Holland Foundation says it has collected about 1 million Euro ($1.3 million) in donations in 2010, the year in which WikiLeaks exploded into public prominence thanks to its release of thousands of classified U.S. documents, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal.

Wau Holland is the primary but not sole financial provider for WikiLeaks, the Journal reports.

From those donations, Wau Holland has established a Greenpeace-like system of salary payments, as WikiLeaks attempts to legitimize its organization by moving away from purely volunteer-based work, the Journal reports. The move to make salaried employees allegedly comes after a year-long intense internal debate about whether to do so."