Sally Rooney Speaks Out on Her Books Being Removed from U.K. Shelves Over Palestine Action Support: ‘I Am Wholly Prepared to Accept the Consequences’
Irish author Sally Rooney says her UK publisher, Faber, has stopped supplying her books in the UK after she said she would continue supporting Palestine Action. The group was proscribed under UK counter-terrorism law in July 2025, and Rooney says publishing contracts could now expose those involved to serious criminal offences.
Rooney agreed with Faber’s decision, saying she is prepared to accept the consequences of her stated position. Faber said it cannot pass UK earnings from her work to her and considers selling books without paying the author unacceptable, but will continue selling them elsewhere. Rooney’s novels include *Normal People* and *Conversations with Friends*; she previously cancelled UK appearances over concerns about arrest.
- Faber has stopped supplying Rooney’s books in the UK.
- Rooney says her support for Palestine Action created legal risks.
- Faber will continue selling her work in other territories.
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Sally Rooney is an Irish novelist whose books include Normal People and Conversations with Friends. Her UK publisher, Faber, has published and sold her work in Britain as well as overseas.
Palestine Action is a group that campaigns against companies it says are linked to Israel’s military operations. The UK government proscribed it under counter-terrorism law in July 2025, making membership and certain forms of support criminal offences.
The dispute concerns how that law may affect Rooney’s publishing arrangements and the money earned from her books. It also raises questions about how publishers handle authors’ public positions when legal restrictions could affect sales or payments.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Rooney’s supporters could argue that peaceful political advocacy and support for a proscribed organisation are distinct, and that writers should be able to voice opposition to state policy without losing access to publication. They may see the removal of her books as a chilling effect on expression, especially when the legal consequences of publishing them are disputed, and regard her willingness to accept personal consequences as principled dissent.
The case against
Those defending Faber’s decision could argue that the publisher must comply with UK law and avoid exposing staff or the company to serious criminal liability. They may also consider it ethically wrong to sell an author’s work while being unable to pay her, and say that stopping UK supply is a cautious response to legal uncertainty rather than an attempt to silence her.