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Sally Rooney Agrees With Faber To Stop UK Book Sales Over Palestine Action Support
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Sally Rooney's books no longer sold in the UK due to support for Palestine Action. Faber & Faber cannot pass UK earnings to Rooney; distribution halted.
19 outlets told this the same way.
Rooney pulls UK books
Sally Rooney 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. Rooney told BBC News that 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.
Faber told BBC News that "we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format" because current legislation prevents it from passing on UK earnings to Rooney. Rooney said ebook editions had already been removed from sale in the UK, while Waterstones confirmed to the BBC that Faber had advised there were no restrictions on booksellers keeping their current copies on the shelves.
Law, royalties, and arrests
Rooney said she had written an opinion piece expressing her intention to go on supporting Palestine Action, which she described as "not a proscribed or otherwise prohibited group here in the Republic of Ireland." The BBC reported that the UK government proscribed Palestine Action in 2025, saying it had a "long history" of criminal damage, including targeting arms companies linked to Israel's war in Gaza.
The BBC said more than 3,700 people are believed to have been arrested in the UK over alleged support of Palestine Action, and it said about 2,500 have been charged, with a legal challenge continuing and to be heard by the Supreme Court next month. Rooney said she was "wholly prepared to accept the consequences" of the decision, while Faber said it would continue to sell her work in other territories.
Free speech dispute
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said Rooney had taken "a brave and principled stand" and described the withdrawal of her work as "a new low in the escalating assault on free speech" caused by the proscription. Amnesty International UK chief executive Kerry Moscogiuri said, "Whatever one’s views on Palestine Action, we should all be concerned when laws intended to combat terrorism end up silencing artistic freedom".
The BBC said the legal challenge to the proscription continues and will be heard by the Supreme Court next month, while it said many book shops still have existing stock of physical copies. Rooney said she intended to carry on using her royalties to support Palestine Action, and she said she had made every effort to be honest with the public about her beliefs and intentions.