Canongate determined to publish and be damned

THE autobiography of Wiki-Leaks founder Julian Assange will be published today by Edinburgh-based Canongate Books – despite him attempting to block its release.

The creator of the controversial whistle-blowing website attempted to cancel his contract for the memoir after reading a first draft.

But Canongate decided to put the book on sale against his wishes under the title Julian Assange: The Unauthorised Autobiography.

Assange, 40, who is on bail in Britain facing extradition to Sweden on charges of sexual assault, reportedly gave 50 hours of interviews about his life and the work of WikiLeaks to his Scottish ghost-writer Andrew O’Hagan.

But he became “increasingly troubled” about the thought of publishing and after seeing the first draft in March declared: “All memoir is prostitution”, according to the publishers.

Assange said he wanted to cancel his contract in June, but by this time he had already signed his advance over to his lawyers to settle his legal bills for fighting extradition.

Canongate said: “We have decided to honour that contract and to publish. Once the advance has been earned out, we will continue to honour the contract and pay Julian royalties.

“We disagree with Julian’s assessment of the book. We believe it explains both the man and his work, underlining his commitment to the truth.”

Assange, who is living at his bail address in Norfolk, made global headlines with revelations from leaked US military files and diplomatic cables.