Toronto transgender artist and book binder Laur Flom has been ripping off Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s name from the book’s covers and replacing them for fans who would rather have them without it. .“I rebind Harry Potter books without JK Rowling’s name on them because f*ck her,” said Flom in a video. .“It’s been a minute since I posted a book binding video, so I figured that I would do one video start to finish minus the printing process of binding a Harry Potter book.” .Flom said after taking the book apart and removing the required pages, he reglues some pages and glues on the end pages he printed before. He said he trims the end pages down to size so there is no overhang. .The book goes into his finishing press, and the spine is shaved down to rid it of any extra glue. It is shaved down so he can round it with his old hammer. .He said the spine is reglued and reinforced. Once the coverboards and spines are cut to size, he said they are glued into a bookcloth. .All of these parts are glued down with one and-a-half inches of overhang. Corners are cut so there is no material buildup once the book is assembled. .Flom went on to say the overhang is glued and pulled onto the bookboard on all four sides. The last stage is gluing the end phases to the case. .The new books have a black and gold cover with new end pages. Flom sells the full set of seven Harry Potter books for $1,600. .People can buy a single book in the series for $230. A set of Harry Potter hardcover books sold on Amazon goes for about $200..He offers a service where people can have their own copies rebound..Flom said on his aim with this project 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,” he said..“And honestly, originally, there wasn't a point or like anything really deep about this project.”.He said he started the project "out of spite, and out of boredom."."But with this platform, and with people's interest in the books, it's become something that is bringing attention to a trans Jewish artist's work, and will eventually bring about donations to trans charities," he said. .Rowling was almost named person of the year before the Guardian closed its poll early in 2021. .READ MORE: Woke newspaper cancels poll showing JK Rowling is readers’ fave person.When readers selected her as their favourite, the poll disappeared from the Guardian’s website. .She faced an uproar during 2021 from the sexual minority community for allegedly transphobic comments.
