Maine U. Paper Won’t Republish King’s Columns

The University of Maine student newspaper says it has decided to avoid a long legal battle and abandon its attempt to republish columns written 20 years ago by Stephen King.

Doug Vanderweide, editor of the Maine Campus, said Wednesday that the decision was made after an “extremely amiable” phone conversation with the best-selling horror writer, who lives in nearby Bangor.

King had objected to republication of columns he wrote while he was a student at the university. He said he found the columns embarrassingly juvenile.

Vanderweide said protracted litigation with King, who has long been supportive of the university, would be “personally distasteful.”

“I think it’s best to be fair to the man,” Vanderweide said, “and the way to be fair to him is just to let this issue slide.”