The Irish author behind the bestselling novels “Conversations with Friends” and “Normal People” — the latter adapted into an award-winning miniseries that launched the careers of Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones — has claimed spoken out about being forced to not sell her books in the U.K. over her support for Palestine Action, a banned direct action network that has been labeled a “terrorist group” in the U.K. under Terrorism Act 2000. Palestine Action uses direct action protests with the goal of “ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.” When Palestine Action was banned and labeled a “terrorist group” last year, the 35-year-old author stated that she would be using proceeds from her book sales to support the organization. She also canceled a trip to England last year to pick up an award (and all future public appearances there) for fear of being arrested.
The following month, I wrote an opinion piece expressing my intention to go on supporting Palestine Action, which is not a proscribed or otherwise prohibited group here in the Republic of Ireland,” Rooney said in a statement. She continued: “As a result, the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the U.K. could now constitute a serious criminal offence. 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 U.K.
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’s publisher in the U.K. and Ireland, Faber, echoed Rooney’s claims in a similar statement: “Current legislation in the U.K. has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on U.K. 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 U.K. in any format.
We remain the proud publisher of her remarkable body of work, which we will continue to sell in other territories.” Since Hamas massacred over 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, retaliatory attacks by the Israeli military on Gaza have reportedly claimed the lives of over 75,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. In her Aug. 2025 op-ed for the Irish Times defending her contributions to Palestine Action, Rooney wrote, “Palestine Action has been among the strongest of those voices in the UK, taking direct steps to halt the seemingly unstoppable machinery of violence. We owe their courageous activists our gratitude and solidarity.
And by now, almost two years into a live-streamed genocide, we owe the people of Palestine more than mere words.”
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