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Trans activist bookbinder is removing JK Rowlings name from the author’s own books for a fee

January 15, 2023 | | Print Article

A left-wing transgender printmaker/book artist is removing author J.K. Rowling’s name from used copies of her “Harry Potter” books and then reselling them for £140 ($171) each. Why? Because according to Laur Flom, Rowling is a transphobe.

“The project is spurred by her transphobia. 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,” Flom told SWNS last week.

“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,” he added.

Uh huh …

Watch the TikTok video below to hear Flom’s true, unfiltered take:

@sensitivequeer unrelated but if youre not listening to @reneerapp on repeat what are u doing #bookbinding #booktok #book #harrypotter #hp #trans #jkrowling #jkr #reneerapp #queer #twilight #twilightsaga #twilighttiktok ♬ Colorado – Reneé Rapp

“I rebind Harry Potter books without J.K. Rowling’s name on them, because f–k her,” he bluntly says in the clip above.

According to SWNS, Flom “seeks out second-hand copies of the series,” removes the covers and copyright pages, and them replaces them with custom-made ones.

“Each book takes around 12 hours to re-bind, not including the time it takes for Laur to package and send it off to the buyer. They spend approximately 15 hours-a-week on the project, as they continue to work as a bartender at the same time,” SWNS reported.

“The books are sold for £979 for a set of seven, and £140 for an individual book, a portion of each sale is donated to transgender charities. Laur’s work has caused some controversy with some viewers, but overall people have reacted positively.”

Notice SWNS’s use of the pronoun “they” instead of he/him.

Despite Flom erasing Rowling’s name from her own books, he claims he isn’t denying/erasing her existence.

“This project isn’t about the ‘death of the author.’ That’s impossible,” he tols SWNS.

True. But he is removing the author’s name from her own work and thus erasing her vast contribution to the “Harry Potter” series that she wrote, as noted by critics:

It’s deeply ironic, critics say, because transgender activists like Flom routinely accuse Rowling of erasing their existence, when in reality all she’s done is embrace the realities of biological reality.

For example, Rowling is against the idea of women’s abuse shelters offering care to so-called “transgender women” because doing so puts actual women at risk. And so last year she launched a women’s only shelter in Scotland’s Edinburgh.

“Beira’s Place in Edinburgh will be a support and advocacy service for women in the Lothians aged 16 and over who have experienced sexual violence or abuse at any time in their lives,” Bloomberg reported last month.

“Organisers said the service, which will be free, has been set up in response to demand from female survivors for a women-only service, as one is currently not available in the area,” the outlet added.

The announcement provoked massive outrage from the transgender community:

Speaking of reactions, Flom claimed to SWNS that his work has so far triggered only positive responses from the public.

“[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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Perhaps, but from the looks of it, there’s also been a lot of pushback — including from folks eager to point out that Flom may be violating the law:

Vivek Saxena
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