Publisher Faber says withdrawal due to ‘circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney’.
Irish novelist Sally Rooney says her books have been withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom due to her public support for Palestine Action, a group the British government has designated as a terrorist organisation.
Rooney’s publisher Faber said on Wednesday that the withdrawal was due to “circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work”, calling it an “unconscionable situation for a publisher”.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3UK warns Sally Rooney after novelist pledges to fund Palestine Action
- list 2 of 3Sally Rooney, Greta Thunberg back Palestine Action before appeal case
- list 3 of 3UK appeals High Court ruling that granted Palestine Action a victory
Rooney told BBC News that the further publication of her work could constitute a “serious criminal offence”.
She added that she made “every effort to be honest” with the public about her beliefs and intentions and that she is “wholly prepared to accept the consequences”.
The Ebook editions of her work have been removed from sale in the UK, but a number of physical copies of her books are still available in shops.
Rooney has received critical acclaim for her novels, including Normal People and Conversations With Friends, which have sold millions of copies globally. The two novels were adapted for television by the BBC.
The UK government outlawed Palestine Action in July 2025, after activists from the group broke into a Royal Air Force base and sprayed red paint on two aircraft to protest against Britain’s military support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Being a member or a supporter of the group in the UK is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
After the ban took effect, Rooney wrote in the Irish Times that she would continue to support Palestine Action and if that makes her a “‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it”.
She has publicly said she would use her earnings from her novels and adaptations to support the group. In September 2025, Rooney could not travel to the UK to receive an award due to fear of arrest.
Independent Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn, who has recently been banned from entering Israel for his support for Palestine, said the situation showed the “complete absurdity of the proscription of Palestine Action”.
“What a stain on this government that people in this country are unable to buy and enjoy the work of one of this generation’s greatest writing talents,” he wrote in a statement on X.
John McDonnell, a Labour MP, released a statement saying he does not want anyone in the UK “to miss out on her wonderful writing”.