Mick Hartley

Well, this is weird:

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….

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

In Canada, as we've seen, all you need to do to be accused of transphobia is to speak up for women's rights.

'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.

Critically engage? By removing her name?

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.