Stop Giving JK Rowling Your Money and Start Supporting Trans Authors!

CW: Death of a Family Member, Loss of a Pet.

It’s been a while since I have written a blog post for this site. 2025 has been a rough year. Not only did my dog Elmo run away, but there has been a death in my family, and I’m currently preparing myself for a second by the end of the year.

And on top of that, I’m still a professional author working tirelessly on my original, diverse books (in particular, trans and fat-positive books). A lot is going on outside of this fandom hobby.

When it Rains, It Pours!

However, since I’ve returned to the Harry Potter fandom, there have been some developments that I wanted to discuss. First and foremost, we are getting a lot of casting announcements concerning the Harry Potter TV show, and now with the stage production of Cursed Child.

All of them have left me angry and disappointed. John Lithgow and Tom Felton’s announcement has truly disappointed me. John Lithgow just doesn’t understand why he is being dragged backwards and forwards for taking the role of Dumbledore. And I have no idea what made Tom Felton think that it was a good idea to once again reprise his role as Draco Malfoy.

Especially since he has firsthand knowledge of how toxic J.K. Rowling is. Did he learn nothing about J.K. Rowling has been shitting on his former castmates  just because they won’t help to commit anti-trans genocide.

Speaking of J.K. Rowling, gleefully committing trans genocide. She revealed that every penny that she earns from Harry Potter is going directly to anti-trans rights funds. That’s right, she is not only paying lobbyists to roll back trans protections in the U.K., J.K. Rowling is also creating a political organization wants to destroy the civil rights of trans people.

So, this is the perfect time to remind you that I fucking despise J.K. Rowling and all that she stand for. Not only is she a repugnant transphobe, she is also racist (hella anti-Black btw), and a holocaust denier.

Stop Giving J.K. Rowling Your Money!

• Stop making book rec posts and bookish content with any books written by J.K. Rowling. This includes the Harry Potter books and her Robert Galbraith books.  And this counts for you doing product placement with having Harry Potter on your shelves in your tiktoks, youtube videos, and Instagram reels.
• Stop streaming the Harry Potter movies. Do not rent those movies either. If you want to watch those movies, buy used DVDs.
• Stop buying any of her books new. If you want to read Harry Potter books (and I don’t understand why you would), buy them used or borrow them from the library.
• Stop buying her official merch. If you want HP merch (and again, I don’t understand why), then buy it on Etsy from small fannish businesses.
• Stop playing Harry Potter video games! A lot of ya’ll were talking about “I’m an ally” and went on to buy Hogwarts: The Legacy.
• Stop going to Pottermore! This is J.K. Rowling’s official website. If you want to know some Harry Potter facts or look up something about the books? Go to the Harry Potter Lexicon or the Fandom Wikia.
• Stop Going To The Theme Park! We see posting pics on instagram that you went to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Stop that!
• Support Trans Authors! By the way, are you a Harry Potter fan? I need you to show the same enthusiasm for trans books written by trans authors. Because some wonderful trans books are just as good, if not better than, Harry Potter.

But wait! Don’t You Read and write Harry Potter fanfiction?

I am a Black genderfluid trans man/trans person, and I do know there is a debate that Harry Potter fanfic is contributing to J.K. Rowling as free marketing. And while yes, fanfic has always been a marketing vehicle for a fandom. However, I think lumping this into a Black and White scenario is doing a disservice to the entire discourse.

People seem to forget that there are still a lot of QTBIPOC in the Harry Potter fandom, still writing HP fic. And not only are they writing Harry Potter fanfiction, they are truly writing subversive fiction that not only makes the Wizarding World more diverse but also talks about political issues that are relevant now more than ever.

The Double Standard

I also hate that this is the only fandom in which people are demanding that fans stop writing fanfic for. If this is the standard we have for all problematic fandoms, then why are not giving Stephenie Meyer the same treatment? Twilight is just as problematic as Harry Potter, and Stephenie and her family are high-ranking members of the Mormon Church.

The church that has not only been funding anti-LGBTQ+ lobbies at both the state and federal levels for decades, but has a long history of anti-Blackness and genocide. And as per the rules of Stephenie Meyer’s religion 10% of her income goes directly back to the church.

And yet no one is calling for the fans to stop writing Twilight fanfiction.

The Relevancy Game

I have also been very open and clear that I believe the idea that if we just stop talking about Harry Potter, if all leave the fandom, that Harry Potter will become irrelevant and fade away, a pipe dream, at best.

It’s been 5 years since we have collectively come together and decided that we are going to boycott Harry Potter (and this is not me saying that we shouldn’t still do that), but HBO Max and other big corporations keep giving J.K. Rowling money to fund projects. She still has a publishing contract and is still publishing books.

Harry Potter has become so much of a popular zeitgeist  that it will never fade away. So I personally, as a trans person, feel it’s better to use her platform against her to raise funds for trans organizations and trans people in need of mutual aid.

Won’t Stop, Can’t Stop!

The With This Ring series is a way for me to be petty with a purpose. To use my anger to lift and uplift the trans community. And honestly, I feel like I think J.K. Rowling would be outraged to see that I made Cishet white icon of the light a Black trans femme person. I love that I’m taking a thing that J.K. Rowling wrote to exclude and degrade marginalized people into something that is positive and doing some real good in the world. I have raised hundreds of dollars for trans people writing this series and I plan on raising tons more for the betterment of the trans community.

And this is why I refuse to stop writing this series. Now, there are going to be some trans people who disagree with me about this, and I’m okay with that. Trans people are not a monolith, but just because we disagree does not mean this series is ever going away. I will be here publishing chapters twice a month until I’m finally done.

The first book in this series, The Temporary Spouse, is almost a year old (will be in September), and I have not lost any of my enthusiasm for it. I still think about Tony and Kendis almost every day, and I find joy and happiness writing every chapter.

And this series is not going anywhere.