Sally Rooney’s bestselling novels will no longer be sold in Britain because of her support for banned protest group Palestine Action, the Irish author and her publisher Faber announced on Wednesday. Rooney said that UK publication of her books, which include Normal People and Conversations with Friends, could constitute a serious criminal offence since she pledged royalties from her work to Palestine Action. 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, she said.
Palestine Action’s proscription in the UK has been highly contentious, with priests, teachers and pensioners among thousands of people arrested at demonstrations for holding signs in support of the group. The Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal against the government’s ban this autumn. In June the Court of Appeal upheld the ban, which was approved by MPs in July 2025 after two planes were damaged at RAF Brize Norton.
Rooney’s novel Intermezzo: Faber said current UK legislation meant it could not pass on UK earnings to the author. According to the UK Terrorism Act 2000, the legislation used by ministers to ban Palestine Action, it is a criminal offence if a person provides money or other property, and knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that it will or may be used for the purposes of terrorism. Showing support for a proscribed terrorist group can carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Faber said current UK legislation meant it could not pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney . . . an unconscionable situation for a publisher. It added: 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. Her ebooks were no longer available on Amazon on Wednesday, although existing print copies were still on sale at booksellers.
Waterstones, the bookseller, told the FT that while Faber would no longer be able to supply new stock of Sally Rooney’s work, the publisher had confirmed there are no restrictions on existing stock of her titles, and these will continue to be available. Rooney did not refer to sales in the US, where the government designated Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in August, amid a White House crackdown on leftwing groups. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, which published her latest novel Intermezzo in the US in 2024, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rooney said in August 2025 that she planned to use the proceeds of her work to support Palestine Action, after more than 500 supporters of the group were arrested at Parliament Square in London. If the British state considers this terrorism, then perhaps it should investigate the shady organisations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WHSmith and the BBC, she wrote in the Irish Times. Dealing with themes of class, communication and relationships between friends and romantic partners, Rooney’s books have struck a chord with young adults in particular, lifting her to the top of UK and international bestseller lists.
Last year she won the Sky Arts Award for Literature for Intermezzo, although she did not receive the prize in person after being advised that I can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest. On Wednesday Rooney said: I have made every effort to be honest with the public about my beliefs and intentions, and I am wholly prepared to a...
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing