Bookbinder, 23, removes JK Rowling's name from Harry Potter novels

Bookbinder, 23, removes JK Rowling’s name from Harry Potter novels amid furore over author’s ‘transphobia’ and replaces them with new covers – which are sold for £140 each

• Laur Flom has removed the author’s name from 30 tomes since January 2022
• The bookbinder said the project was to create a ‘safe space’ for Harry Potter fans
• Rowling has faced a backlash in recent years for comments on trans community 

A bookbinder has removed JK Rowling’s name from Harry Potter novels amid the furore over the author’s alleged ‘transphobia’ – and replaced them with new covers, which are sold for £140 each.

Artist Laur Flom embarked on the project to create a ‘safe space’ for fans who struggle to align themselves with the writer’s views. 

The 23-year-old started the project began in January 2022 amid a backlash against Rowling – who denies her stance is discriminatory – for controversial comments she has made about the transgender community in recent years.

Laur, who lives in Toronto, Canada, explained: ‘The project is spurred by her transphobia.

A bookbinder has removed JK Rowling’s (pictured) name from Harry Potter novels amid the furore over the author’s alleged ‘transphobia’ – and replaced them with new covers, which are sold for £140 each

Artist Laur Flom embarked on the project to create a ‘safe space’ for fans who struggle to align themselves with the writer’s view

The traditional cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is removed

‘I was [a fan]. Growing up when I did, it was a given that you would read Harry Potter.

‘After J.K Rowling’s views on people like me came out, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

‘It raised questions about the ethics of consuming her work.

‘The purpose of this project is to create a safe space for fans to find comfort in the books and critically engage with J.K Rowling’s work.

‘This project isn’t about the ‘death of the author’, that’s impossible.’

In order to recreate the books, Laur, who also works as a bartender, seeks out second-hand copies of the series.

The covers and copyright pages are removed and replaced with alternative versions. 

Each book takes around 12 hours to re-bind, not including the time it takes to package and send it off to the buyer.

Laur spends approximately 15 hours-a-week on the project, while continuing to work as a bartender at the same time.

The books are sold for £979 for a set of seven, and £140 for an individual book, with a percentage of each sale donated to transgender charities.

Laur’s work has caused some controversy with some viewers, but overall people have reacted positively.

‘[The reactions are] mostly good, the majority of my comments are positive my last video reached a strange part of TikTok and reactions were mixed, but mostly good.

‘I would hope that the impact of my project is just to bring light to her transphobia and to make people aware of the things she has said.

‘I get so many comments just asking what she had done.

‘I think that it’s been successful so far, just the fact that people have been interested makes me think that it’s been successful.’

It is then replaced by an alternative cover, which Laur sells online for some £140

Each book takes around 12 hours to re-bind, not including the time it takes to package and send it off to the buyer

The public backlash against the author’s views started in March 2018, when Rowling was criticised for liking a tweet which referred to trans women as ‘men in dresses’.

Then her tweet on June 6, 2020, in response to a headline referencing ‘people who menstruate’, sparked further criticism, with some seeing it as a direct attack on the trans community.

Many celebrities – including Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson – publicly spoke out against the author.

Days later, in an online essay, Rowling wrote that her interest in trans issues originated from being a survivor of abuse and having concerns around single-sex spaces.

In the blog post she detailed what she said were the five reasons why she felt the need to talk about the issue.

These included her interest in ‘both education and safeguarding’ and ‘freedom of speech’.

Explaining her final reason, she wrote: ‘I’ve been in the public eye now for over 20 years and have never talked publicly about being a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor.

‘This isn’t because I’m ashamed those things happened to me, but because they’re traumatic to revisit and remember.’

In December 2021, Rowling made another controversial social media post prior to the release of the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

The author addressed a report that the Scottish police would begin to record rapes by offenders with male genitalia as being committed by a woman if the attacker identifies as a female.

Ms Rowling tweeted: ‘War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.’

More recently, the writer insisted that she does not feel ‘cancelled’ by the stream of criticism over the last three years.

It came as she announced she will fund a new women-only service for victims of sexual violence.

Meanwhile in November, an LGBTQ activist commended Rowling for her ‘bravery’ and told her followers that people are ‘burning the wrong witch’ after she was unable to find any evidence that the Harry Potter author is transphobic.

EJ Rosetta, a writer and columnist for HuffPost, who has been vocal herself over trans issues, said in a series of Tweets that JK Rowling ‘is not an ‘intolerable transphobe”, but stood up for women’s rights when she could have sat back.

Representatives for Ms Rowling have been approached for comment. 

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