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FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2013 file photo, author Stephen King poses for the cameras, during a promotional tour for his novel, "Doctor Sleep" in Paris. King’s “End of Watch” will be published next June, Scribner announced Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015. The novel is the third, after “Mr. Mercedes” and “Finders Keepers,” to feature retired police detective Bill Hodges. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

The University of Maine is creating the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature in honour of one of its most famous graduates.

The university is collecting applications from English professors to fill the position now. The appointment is set to begin in August and is a five-year, renewable term.

The university says the position is tenured and designed to honour the UMaine English department’s “most celebrated graduate.”

The school says the position will have undergraduate education as a central focus.

King graduated from the university in 1970 with a degree in English. His first novel, Carrie, was published four years later, and he has been one of America’s most beloved horror and fantasy authors for four decades.

The position is partially endowed by the Harold Alfond Foundation.