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Sally Rooney Books Withdrawn From UK Over Palestine Action Support

4:16 PM ETConfirmed

Entertainment Desk

In Short: Sally Rooney's books are no longer being sold in the UK due to her support for Palestine Action, a group banned as a terrorist organization.

Sally Rooney, the Irish author of bestsellers like 'Normal People' and 'Conversations with Friends,' announced Wednesday that her books will no longer be sold in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action, a group proscribed as a 'terrorist' organization by British authorities.

Rooney's publisher, Faber, confirmed the decision, stating that current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where they cannot pass on UK earnings to Rooney for her work.

The move means titles such as 'Normal People,' 'Conversations with Friends,' and 'Beautiful World, Where Are You' will disappear from UK bookshops.

Rooney said she has made every effort to be honest with the public about her beliefs and intentions, and she is wholly prepared to accept the consequences.

Faber stated that to sell a writer's work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher.

The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, has appealed the ban, and the UK Supreme Court is set to hear the case next month.

More than 3,000 people have been arrested since the group was outlawed, including for holding signs declaring 'I support Palestine Action,' and more than 1,200 have been charged under the Terrorism Act.

Rooney has previously expressed support for Palestine Action and said she would donate earnings from her books and BBC adaptations of novels to the group.

The Irish author, 35, said she agrees with the decision to withdraw her books from sale in the UK.

Rooney's books have sold more than six million copies globally, including 2.3 million in the UK, according to NielsenIQ BookData.

What this adds

What's confirmed

• "Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work," Faber said in a statement.
• "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." Britain's Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal against the ban from the group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, next month.
• "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." The bestselling author of Normal People and Intermezzo previously said she would donate earnings to Palestine Action and told the High Court in London that the proscription would affect freedom of expression.
• Rooney has previously expressed support for the group, which the UK government banned as a "terrorist" organisation in July 2025.
• Bestselling books by Sally Rooney will no longer be sold in the UK because of the Irish novelist's support for Palestine Action, an organisation that has been banned in the country.
• Rooney, whose bestselling novels include “Normal People” and “Conversations with Friends,” said she agrees with the decision to withdraw her books.
• FILE - From left, Paul Mescal, Sally Rooney and Ed Guiney participate in Hulu's "Normal People" panel during the Winter 2020 Television Critics Association Press Tour on Jan.
• The Irish writer is a supporter of the activists, who have been put on the same ‘terrorist’ blacklist as militants like Hamas and Hezbollah Irish author Sally Rooney can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for the activist group Palestine Action, her publisher Faber said on Wednesday.
• LONDON (AP) — Irish novelist Sally Rooney said on Wednesday that her books are being withdrawn from sale in the U.K. because of her support for Palestine Action, a protest group the British government has outlawed as a terrorist organization.
• The government outlawed Palestine Action last year after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base to protest British military support for Israel.
• “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, according to the AP.
• “To sell a writer’s work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher. As such, and in full agreement with Sally, we have taken the decision that we can no longer supply her works in the U.K. in any format,” Faber said in a statement.

What's still developing

• "As a result, the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence," Rooney said in a statement shared with AFP.
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• The group, Palestine Action, says it is committed to “ending global complicity with Israel’s genocidal apartheid regime,” according to their website.
• In 2022, she was named one of Time’s most influential people.
• Rooney‘s additional published works include Beautiful World, Where Are You and Intermezzo.
• Proceeds from her novels and TV fees would be used to continue to support the group, Rooney shared.
• A Killeen man with two prior narcotics-related felony convictions in Bell County was indicted last week on a state jail felony charge after police said they saw crystal meth in his “suspicious vehicle” while it was parked at a local motel.

Sources

• ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporationlink
• BBClink
• NewsCordlink
• Ottumwa Courierlink
• Rolling Stonelink
• South China Morning Postlink
• Temple Daily Telegramlink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• The Jerusalem Postlink
• The Jewish Chroniclelink
• The Killeen Daily Heraldlink
• The Seattle Timeslink
• Al Jazeera English — video link