Sally Rooney has said she is being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK because of her support for the banned organisation Palestine Action.
The Irish novelist, whose books include Normal People and Conversations With Friends, said her public support for the direct action group meant she could no longer receive royalties from UK sales.
After Palestine Action was banned last year, Rooney said she would use proceeds from her sales to support Palestine Action. Supporting organisations banned under the Terrorism Act is an offence and she subsequently cancelled a trip to the UK to pick up an award, for fear of arrest.
In a statement provided to the Guardian, the bestselling author said: “‘In July 2025, the direct-action protest group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. The following month, I wrote an opinion piece expressing my intention to go on supporting Palestine Action, which is not a proscribed or otherwise prohibited group here in the Republic of Ireland.
“As a result, the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence. After a process of consultation and deliberation, and with my full agreement, my publisher Faber has therefore determined that it can no longer supply my work within the UK. I have made every effort to be honest with the public about my beliefs and intentions, and I am wholly prepared to accept the consequences.”
In a high court statement in support of the legal challenge to proscription, warning against its impact on freedom of expression, Rooney said her books could disappear from UK stores and the publication of new works in the UK could be prevented.
Her books have been critically acclaimed – she has been described as the voice of a generation – and hugely commercially successful in the UK. Normal People has sold more than 1m copies, while Conversations With Friends and Beautiful World, Where Are You have each sold more than 500,000. Normal People and Conversations With Friends were adapted by the BBC, and the former racked up 62.7m views, becoming the broadcaster’s most-streamed series of 2020.
Rooney said last year that she had been advised by the independent producer of the TV dramatisations that any payment to her for those series, both broadcast before the ban, would be a breach of terrorism laws if it knew or suspected that she was using the royalties to fund Palestine Action.
Section 15 of the Terrorism Act makes it an offence if a person “provides money or other property, and knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that it will or may be used for the purposes of terrorism”. It carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Her UK and Ireland publisher, Faber, said: “Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work. To sell a writer’s work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher.
“As such, and in full agreement with Sally, we have taken the decision that we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format. We remain the proud publisher of her remarkable body of work, which we will continue to sell in other territories.”
More than 3,700 people are believed to have been arrested in the UK for alleged support of Palestine Action since it was banned in July last year, most for holding placards saying: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
About 2,500 people have been charged, although none have been tried as a legal challenge to the ban is continuing and will be heard by the supreme court next month. Most arrests and charges have related to section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which carries a maximum jail term of six months.
Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action who has brought the legal challenge against the ban, said: “Sally Rooney being unable to publish her work in the UK marks a new low in the escalating assault on free speech caused by the proscription of Palestine Action …
“[She] took a brave and principled stand from the moment plans to ban Palestine Action were announced. She has refused to compromise her convictions, even at considerable personal and professional cost. Her work should be celebrated and widely available, not driven off the shelves of British bookshops because she refuses to be complicit in the suppression of solidarity with the Palestinian people. No author should have to choose between their principles and their freedom to publish.”
Kerry Moscogiuri, the chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said: “Whatever one’s views on Palestine Action, we should all be concerned when laws intended to combat terrorism end up silencing artistic freedom and the ability to engage in peaceful political dissent.
“Writers should not find their books disappearing from shelves because of their political beliefs. Nor should people have to choose between expressing their conscience and pursuing their livelihoods.
“Sally Rooney’s willingness to accept the personal consequences of her convictions deserves recognition. There is a real danger that others, seeing the price she has paid, will decide they cannot afford to speak out.”
Rooney’s books were still on sale in central London on Wednesday afternoon, and Waterstones said that existing stock could still be sold.
Gian Carlo, a bookseller at Henry Pordes Books, said the same, adding: “Nothing goes to Sally Rooney in this case. We sell books of all types, they’re not connected to the author. I can’t say I don’t agree with her.
John Clegg, a bookseller at London Review Bookshop, said: “I ordered more as soon as I saw the news. I saw the number go down to zero, so I hope they go through. People are going to want them and we’re not going to be able to get them through Faber.
“Good on her for taking a stand, it seems a ridiculous law. If this thing convinces the Home Office to move faster to get rid of it, I’m all for it.”
