Remove most of the unnecessary interpunction from epublication, which can
    break unimark if not used properly.

def _removeSpecialCharacters(epub):
    """
    Remove most of the unnecessary interpunction from epublication, which can
    break unimark if not used properly.
    """
    special_chars = "/:,- "

    epub_dict = epub._asdict()

    for key in epub_dict.keys():
        if isinstance(epub_dict[key], basestring):
            epub_dict[key] = epub_dict[key].strip(special_chars)

        elif type(epub_dict[key]) in [tuple, list]:
            out = []
            for item in epub_dict[key]:
                if not isinstance(item, Author):
                    out.append(item)
                    continue

                new_item = item._asdict()

                for key in new_item.keys():
                    new_item[key] = new_item[key].strip(special_chars)

                out.append(Author(**new_item))

            epub_dict[key] = out

    return EPublication(**epub_dict)