Sally Rooney books withdrawn in UK over Palestine Action support

Key points

• Sally Rooney's novels will no longer be supplied to UK booksellers due to her support for Palestine Action.
• Rooney said fulfilling UK publishing contracts could now be a serious criminal offence.
• Publisher Faber agreed to stop supplying her works in the UK in any format.

Irish author Sally Rooney has said her novels will no longer be supplied to booksellers in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action, which the UK government proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2025. In a statement to BBC News, Rooney said further publication of her work could constitute a serious criminal offence, so she agreed with her publisher Faber not to continue supplying her books in the UK.

Rooney said she had made every effort to be honest with the public about her beliefs and intentions and was wholly prepared to accept the consequences. Ebook editions have already been removed from sale in the UK, though many shops still have existing stock of physical copies.

Publisher confirms decision

Faber told BBC News that current UK legislation meant it could not pass on UK earnings to Rooney for her work. The publisher called that an unconscionable situation and said that, in full agreement with Rooney, it could no longer supply her works in the UK in any format. Faber added that it remained the proud publisher of her body of work and would continue to sell it in other territories.

Waterstones confirmed to the BBC that Faber had advised there were no restrictions on booksellers keeping their current copies on the shelves. Rooney has sold more than six million books globally, including 2.3 million in the UK, according to NielsenIQ BookData. Her novels include Normal People, Intermezzo, Conversations With Friends and Beautiful World, Where Are You.

I have made every effort to be honest with the public about my beliefs and intentions, and I am wholly prepared to accept the consequences.

— Sally Rooney

Background and reaction

The UK government proscribed Palestine Action in 2025, saying it had a long history of criminal damage. The group's activities have included targeting arms companies linked to Israel's war in Gaza. Rooney said that in July 2025 Palestine Action was proscribed in the UK, and the following month she wrote an opinion piece expressing her intention to keep supporting the group, which is not proscribed in the Republic of Ireland. In her August article in the Irish Times, she said she would continue using proceeds from her work to support the group despite that being an offence in the UK, and cancelled a UK trip to pick up an award over fears she would be arrested.

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said Rooney had taken a brave and principled stand from the moment plans to ban Palestine Action were announced. Ammori said the withdrawal of the author's work marked a new low in the escalating assault on free speech caused by the proscription. More than 3,700 people are believed to have been arrested in the UK over alleged support of Palestine Action, and about 2,500 have been charged, though none have gone to trial as a legal challenge to the proscription continues and will be heard by the Supreme Court next month.