Sally Rooney's novels pulled from British sale over Palestine Action support
Sally Rooney's novels will no longer be supplied to bookshops in Britain, the BBC and AP reported. Her publisher Faber said British law stops it from paying her, because she has said she will give her earnings to Palestine Action, a banned group there. Shops can still sell the copies they have, but some found supplies had run out.
Sally Rooney's novels, including "Normal People" and "Intermezzo," will no longer be supplied to booksellers in the U.K. because of her support for Palestine Action, the BBC and AP reported.
The British government banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organization in July 2025, the outlets reported. AP said the ban makes membership in or support for the group a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Rooney, an Irish novelist, wrote in The Irish Times the following month that she would keep using the proceeds of her work to support the group, the BBC reported.
Rooney's publisher Faber told BBC News that "current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work." It said it could "no longer supply her works in the UK in any format," and that it made the decision in full agreement with Rooney. Faber said it would keep selling her books in other countries, the BBC reported.
"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," Rooney said in a statement, the outlets reported.
Ebook editions have already been removed from sale in the U.K., the BBC said. The Booksellers Association said shops can keep selling their existing stock, AP reported, and Waterstones told the BBC that Faber said there were no restrictions on keeping current copies on shelves. AP reported that some stores rushed to stock up but found distributors had already run out. Lucy Burke, a bookseller at London's Camden Town Bookshop, called the situation "absolutely ridiculous," AP reported.
Rooney has sold more than six million books globally, including 2.3 million in the U.K., according to NielsenIQ BookData, the BBC reported.
The British government says Palestine Action has "carried out acts of terrorism, celebrated those who took part in them and promoted the use of violence," AP reported, and the BBC said the government cited the group's "long history" of criminal damage. The Home Office said the ban "does not affect lawful protest in support of the Palestinian cause," AP reported. Civil liberties groups say the ban unjustifiably restricts protest and free speech, AP reported, and an appeals court ruled in June that the ban was "justified and proportionate." Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said the move marked "a new low in the escalating assault on free speech," the BBC reported. The outlets said thousands of people have been arrested in the U.K. over alleged support for the group, and that a challenge to the ban will be heard by the Supreme Court next month.
What we know: Faber has stopped supplying Rooney's books in the U.K., but shops can sell the copies they have.
What we don't: Whether the Supreme Court will overturn the ban on Palestine Action.
Where outlets agree The BBC and AP both report that Faber said it can no longer supply Rooney's books to British retailers in any format.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.