Sally Rooney forced to withdraw books for sale in the UK due to support of Palestine Action
Sally Rooney and her publisher Faber have decided to stop supplying her books for sale in the UK, saying UK legislation prevents Faber from passing her UK earnings to her. The decision follows Rooney’s public support for Palestine Action, which the UK proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025; she says fulfilling her UK publishing contracts could now amount to a serious criminal offence.
Rooney said she and her agent reached the decision after consultation, and that she was prepared to accept the consequences of her stated beliefs. Faber called selling her books without being able to pass on earnings an “unconscionable situation” and said it would continue selling her work in other territories. Her novel Normal People has sold more than one million copies in the UK and was adapted into a BBC series.
- Rooney’s books will no longer be supplied for UK sale.
- Faber says it cannot pass UK earnings to her.
- Her work will remain available in other territories.
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Sally Rooney is an Irish novelist whose books include Normal People, which was also adapted for television. Her publisher, Faber, sells her books in the UK and other countries.
Palestine Action is a protest group focused on the arms trade and Israel’s actions in Gaza. The UK government proscribed it as a terrorist organisation in July 2025, making certain forms of support for the group a criminal offence under UK law.
The dispute centres on whether money earned from Rooney’s UK book sales can legally be passed on to her. It raises questions about how the law affects publishers and authors who publicly support organisations the government has proscribed.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of Rooney’s decision could argue that she should not be required to accept income from UK sales if passing it on might expose her publisher to criminal liability. Withdrawing the books is a principled way to honour her stated beliefs while avoiding a potentially unlawful arrangement, and it makes clear the personal and commercial consequences of her position.
The case against
Critics could argue that withdrawing the books restricts UK readers’ access to works that are separate from Rooney’s political activism, and that the result is a cultural loss for readers and booksellers. They may also see the decision as an avoidable consequence of her support for an organisation proscribed under UK law, with publishers obliged to comply with that law even when doing so limits an author’s earnings.