Trans artist resells Harry Potter books with JK Rowling’s name removed – and it’s genius
Artist Laur Flom started the project out of ‘spite and boredom.’ (@sensitivequeer/TikTok)
A trans cover artist is selling copies of Harry Potter books with any mention of JK Rowling completely removed.
Printmaker Laur Flom shared the modified cover art in a 4 January TikTok video where they recorded a time-lapse of the book re-binding process.
The simplified covers of all seven Harry Potter books are available on the artist’s website, LF Books, where they also accept rebinding commissions.
During the process, Flom removes the casing and several pages that feature any mention of the controversial author, who has been routinely criticised for her anti-trans views.
In a February 2022 video, the artist said that their aim is to “engage critically and give an option to people who do still want to enjoy Harry Potter without supporting JK Rowling.
“A lot of people have been asking me what the point of this is or what anyone actually gains from me removing her name from the books,” they continued. “Honestly, originally, there wasn’t a point or like, anything really deep about this project.”
They added that the project began “out of spite and out of boredom”, but slowly came to use the platform as a way to “bring about donations to trans charities”.
Customers can buy a single book in the series for C$230 (£140), while all seven books are available for C$1,600 (£980).
Flom’s project reportedly does not violate copyright law
While fans have lauded the aesthetically pleasing look and quality of the covers, some have questioned the legality of the project.
UCLA law faculty professor Mark McKenna told Insider that, while the work does not violate copyright law, there could be issues surrounding laws on trademarking.
Despite this, Mckenna said the claim would be “tricky” to prove, adding that the courts would “prohibit claims made based on confusion about the origin of the book”.
“If they’re binding and selling physical books, there’s an argument that the claim is about the origin of the physical books,” he said.
“But Rowling would have to show that use of her name is not just a statement of authorship, but a trademark, and that’s not a slam dunk.”
The topic surrounding the disparity between enjoying the Harry Potter series and supporting JK Rowling sparked up once again following the upcoming release of the video game Hogwarts Legacy.
After journalist Jessie Earl tweeted that she would “not begrudge anyone their love of past works” but that “support of something like Hogwarts Legacy is harmful”. Rowling responded that “purethink is incompatible with owning ANYTHING connected with me”.
“The truly righteous wouldn’t just burn their books and movies but the local library,” she said in a seemingly hyperbolic statement. “Anything with an owl on it and their own pet dogs.”
