Barbara Walters to write memoirs

NEW YORK -- After a career of interviewing political luminaries and celebrities, Barbara Walters will tell her own story.

"I've spent my whole life reporting about other people, and I have found it to be very satisfying and interesting work. Now, I have to look inward and write about myself," Walters said this week after agreeing to a million-dollar deal for her memoirs.

"It is going to be uncomfortable, I am sure, but I am looking forward to the challenge: I don't plan to cut myself any more breaks than I've given others who have entrusted me with their stories."

Currently untitled, Walter's book is scheduled for publication in 2007 by Miramax Books, which Walters credits with making "an offer I couldn't refuse." Miramax's director of publicity, Hilary Bass, said the deal was worth a "healthy seven figures."

The 74-year-old Walters announced in January that starting next fall she will no longer be co-host of ABC's "20/20," the newsmagazine she's called home since 1979. She said her new schedule will make it easier for her to write her book.

"It is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but knew I could never accomplish while being a full-time anchor," she said in a statement. "Now, with my role changing in the fall, I will finally have the time this kind of project requires."

She'll still do about six interview specials a year for ABC News, including her annual pre-Oscar show. She'll also stay as executive producer and occasional co-host of "The View," the daytime talk show she created.