Bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney has announced that her books can no longer be sold in the UK due to the British government’s ban on Palestine Action.
In a statement on Wednesday, the award-winning Normal People author said that due to her publicly-stated intention to go on supporting Palestine Action, including with royalties from her work, “the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence”.
Rooney added: “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. 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.”
Palestine Action became the first direct action group in British history to be proscribed as a terror organisation under Keir Starmer’s Labour government last summer.
Palestine Action is not proscribed or otherwise banned in the Republic of Ireland, where Rooney lives.
Rooney’s outspoken support for Palestine Action has previously disrupted her work in Britain. In September 2025, she was forced to cancel a trip to the UK to receive the Sky Arts award for her latest novel, 2024’s Intermezzo, due to the risk she would be arrested under the Terrorism Act.
She also submitted a statement to the High Court in support of the legal challenge to Palestine Action’s proscription in November 2025, arguing that the ban impeded free expression, including cultural and artistic expression, and warning that her works could disappear from UK booksellers altogether.
Faber, Rooney's UK and Ireland publisher, said: “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.
“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. We remain the proud publisher of her remarkable body of work, which we will continue to sell in other territories.”
Since the ban on Palestine Action came into force, more than 3,700 people have been arrested for opposing the proscription, the vast majority for holding paper signs that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
According to the Home Office’s own data, terror-related arrests have risen by 1,553% in the last year, with 94% of them linked to support for Palestine Action.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori is challenging the proscription in the Supreme Court, beginning on 4 November.
