Clarence Thomas book deal reached with HarperCollins

WASHINGTON - Publishing sources say Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will receive more than one million dollars for his memoirs. <br> <br> Many publishers bid for rights to the autobiography of the justice who grew up in Pinpoint, Georgia. But sources say Thomas picked the New York-based HarperCollins for the offered package and the assigned editor. <br> <br> The deal is in seven figures, though the exact amount was not revealed. <br> <br> Thomas began writing the autobiography in 2001. The book will cover his life through his appointment to the Supreme Court. The 54-year-old Thomas has completed part of the writing about his childhood in segregated Georgia and expects the book to be released in 2005. <br> <br> Most recently, Justice Sandra Day O&#39;Connor and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist have written books, but neither had deals as lucrative as Thomas&#39;s. <br> <br> There are restrictions on what justices may earn for work outside the court, but there are no restrictions on book earnings.