Sally Rooney's support for Palestine Action leads to her books being withdrawn from UK bookstores

The books of Irish author Sally Rooney, famous in particular for her bestseller Normal People, can no longer be legally sold in the United Kingdom, due to her support for the banned group Palestine Action, the author and her publisher Faber announced on Wednesday.

“Current UK legislation has created a situation where Faber cannot pay Sally Rooney any income generated by her work in the UK (...). Consequently, and in full agreement with Sally, we have decided to no longer distribute her works in the United Kingdom, whatever the format,” the publisher announced in a press release published on its website.

Palestine Action was banned and added to the list of organizations classified as "terrorist" in the United Kingdom in July 2025 by the Labor government, after acts of vandalism carried out at an air force base.

“The following month, I published a column expressing my intention to continue to support Palestine Action (...) Consequently, the execution of contracts for the publication of my works in the United Kingdom could now constitute a serious criminal offense,” explained Sally Rooney on Wednesday, in a statement sent by her agent to AFP. “After a process of consultation and reflection, and with my full agreement, my publisher Faber has therefore decided that it can no longer distribute my works in the United Kingdom,” she adds.

In August 2025, Sally Rooney announced in a column published in The Irish Times that she would donate some of her royalties, including those from the television adaptations of her novels, to the pro-Palestinian organization. In addition to revenue from the sales of her books, the Irish author receives royalties from the BBC, which co-produced and broadcast the television adaptations of Normal People (2020), a global success, and Conversations Between Friends (2022), she then detailed.

Since the ban on Palestine Action, any support for the movement has been prohibited. More than 3,700 people have been arrested during demonstrations in support of the group, according to the organization Defend Our Juries, which organizes them. Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has engaged in a legal standoff with the government to overturn the ban. A hearing is scheduled for early November before the British Supreme Court.