Trans artist sells rebound ‘Harry Potter’ books without JK Rowling’s name. Here’s why
Some “Harry Potter” fans have reported struggling to reconcile their love of the series with disappointment over comments author J.K. Rowling has made against trans people.
So when a transgender book maker created new versions that remove Rowling’s names from the books, the project resonated with LGBTQ “Harry Potter” fans.
Artist Laur Flom set out to rebind all the books in the series about a year ago and documented the process on their TikTok. The project quickly went viral.
Flom launched a website to keep up with demand, where customers could pre-order the rebound books or have their personal copies rebound by the artist without Rowling’s name.
Rowling’s media relations team told McClatchy News it would not comment on the book rebinds.
“In addition to the regular sets, I’m also so happy to take your books and rebind them in my style,” Flom said on TikTok. “I can’t wait to start making these books for you guys.”
The page for Flom’s rebinding service reads: “Send in your personal copies to be rebound, restored, and de-Rowlinged.”
“Harry Potter” fans, whether LGBTQ+ themselves or allies to the community, shared their enthusiasm with Flom.
“This is such an interesting project!” one user wrote. “Literally separating the art from the artist.”
Flom shared in the comments that they had given a lot of thought to the ethics of the project, which they shared in later TikTok videos.
“My aim with this project is to engage critically and give an option to people who do still want to enjoy ‘Harry Potter’ without supporting J.K. Rowling,” they said. “With this platform and with people’s interest in the books, it’s becoming something that is bringing attention to a trans Jewish artist’s work, and will eventually bring about donations to trans charities.”
TikTok users shared in the comments that the books had helped them do just that.
“Reclaiming this work is a wonderful idea…I love it!” one user wrote.
Another user shared that the rebinding project had been therapeutic for them as a nonbinary person.
“HP was such a huge part of my life for so many years,” they wrote. “Thank you.”
Flom pointed out that the series has been a “huge cultural touchstone” for many kids, including queer youth, and “the act of simply not engaging doesn’t feel impactful.”
“I’m not encouraging anyone to look past the racism and xenophobia within the text,” Flom added. “But rather trying to come to terms with a way for those of us who have been harmed by people like J.K. to engage critically with a series that provided us safety as children.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2023 at 12:25 PM with the headline "Trans artist sells rebound ‘Harry Potter’ books without JK Rowling’s name. Here’s why."
