Stephen King set to testify for govt in books merger trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — Renowned author Stephen King is set to take the stand at a federal antitrust trial in Washington, D.C. King is scheduled to be a witness for the Justice Department on Tuesday as it bids to block the proposed merger of two of the world’s biggest publishers, No. 1 U.S. publisher Penguin Random House and No. 4 Simon & Schuster. King has expressed displeasure with the deal even though he is likely to benefit: The author has been published for years by Simon & Schuster. But King worries the merger would hurt smaller companies. Some of King’s own former publishers were acquired by larger ones.