Sally Rooney's publisher will stop supplying her novels to UK booksellers after the Irish author said she intends to continue funding Palestine Action, which the UK government proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2025.
Rooney said in a statement to BBC News that fulfilling contracts to publish her work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence. She has agreed with publisher Faber not to continue supply. "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," she said.
Faber told the BBC: "Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work. To sell a writer's work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher."
The publisher said it would continue selling Rooney's work in other territories. Ebook editions have already been removed from UK sale, though existing physical stock in bookshops may remain on shelves. Waterstones confirmed Faber had advised there are no restrictions on booksellers keeping current copies.
Rooney wrote an opinion piece in the Irish Times last August stating she would continue supporting Palestine Action despite it being an offence in the UK. She cancelled a planned UK trip to receive an award, citing fears of arrest. Palestine Action is not proscribed in the Republic of Ireland.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action in 2025, citing a "long history" of criminal damage. The group has targeted arms companies linked to Israel's war in Gaza. More than 3,700 people have been arrested in the UK over alleged support for Palestine Action. About 2,500 have been charged, though none have gone to trial as a legal challenge to the proscription awaits a Supreme Court hearing next month.
Rooney has sold more than six million copies of her novels globally, including 2.3 million in the UK. Her 2018 novel Normal People was adapted into a TV series that launched the careers of Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Her other works include Intermezzo, Conversations With Friends and Beautiful World, Where Are You.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said Rooney had taken "a brave and principled stand" and called her work being withdrawn "a new low in the escalating assault on free speech caused by the proscription of Palestine Action".