LONDON – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he’s being forced into penning an autobiography to keep his organization from going under.

New York publishing house Alfred A. Knopf confirmed Monday that it had struck a deal with the 39-year-old Australian to bring out his autobiography, whose publication date has yet to be determined.

Assange, speaking to the Sunday Times, said the deal would bring in $800,000 from Knopf and another $500,000 from U.K. publisher Canongate. But he said he only agreed to it because he was under financial pressure.

“I don’t want to write this book, but I have to,” he said. “I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat.”