Sally Rooney has said that her books will no longer be sold in the UK due to her support for Palestine Action. The bestselling Irish author, who has penned hugely popular novels including Normal People and Intermezzo, said that the sale and publication of her books in the UK could ‘constitute a serious criminal offence’.
As the UK government has designated Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, Rooney says she cannot be paid royalties by her British publisher because it could risk her being accused of funding terrorism. In August, Rooney stated outright that she intended to use her royalties to ‘go on supporting Palestine Action’.
Rooney shared in her statement with The Guardian: ‘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.’
She continued, ‘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.’
Faber said in a statement that not being able pay Rooney for her work was 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,’ the publisher wrote. ‘We remain the proud publisher of her remarkable body of work, which we will continue to sell in other territories.’
In a statement to the High Court last year, Rooney said that the ban on Palestine Action under terrorism laws has alarming consequences on her right to free expression and her career as an author. Not only does she receive royalties for her novels, but both Normal People and Conversations With Friends were adapted for the small screen with the BBC.
While both series are still currently available to view on BBC iPlayer, Rooney told the High Court that the producer of the two dramatisations warned her agent that it had received 'unambiguous legal advice' that if it knew the author was spending her royalties on Palestine Action, paying her would be a terrorism offense. As such she told the court, ‘It is therefore unclear whether any UK company can continue to make payments to me, even when it had agreed to do so.'
'My novels have been influential and popular in Britain, where I am amongst the best-selling literary authors of the last decade,' she added. 'The disappearance of my work from bookshops would mark a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression.'
Which of Sally Rooney's books are being withdrawn in the UK?
Conversations With Friends (2017)
Conversations with Friends is a story about college students Frances and Bobbi who become involved with a married couple, Melissa and Nick. The plot follows Frances as she begins an affair with Nick, while Bobbi develops a friendship with Melissa.
Normal People (2018)
Normal People, Rooney's most famous novel, follows the on-again, off-again relationship between Marianne and Connell as they move through high school to Trinity College Dublin. Over the years, they navigate various intimacy, communication, class and family issues as well as their own personal struggles, but keep finding their way back to each other.
Two Stories (2020)
Two Stories consists of two novellas that explore the themes of attraction, power dynamics, and the often painful miscommunication between people. The first, Mr Salary, is about a woman who moves in with her partner after her mother dies and it shifts the power dynamic in their relationship. The second, Colour and Light, is about two strangers who meet at a fireworks display, something that later becomes a metaphor for their relationship.
Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021)
Beautiful World, Where Are You follows four Irish friends – novelists Alice and Eileen, and their partners Felix and Simon – as they live out the trials and tribulations of their mid-20s. It's told through a combination of narration and emails exchanged between the two women.
Intermezzo (2024)
Intermezzo follows two brothers with a significant age gap, Peter and Ivan, as they try to reconstruct their fraught relationship following the death of their father. Ivan is a lawyer in Dublin and Peter is a chess champion, but together they must navigate the challenges that come with grief, intimacy and their complicated family dynamic.
Which of Sally Rooney's TV shows could be removed from iPlayer?
Normal People (2020)
A pandemic smash hit, the BBC adaptation of Normal People (currently available on Netflix) made stars of Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones. It's a widely praised rendition of Rooney's story.
Conversations with Friends (2022)
While less gushed about by the critics, Rooney's first novel was also adapted by the BBC and stars Alison Oliver, Joe Alwyn, Jemima Kirke and Sasha Lane.
Nikki Peach is a senior writer at Grazia, working across news, entertainment, features. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).