Sally Rooney pulls books from UK over her support for Palestine Action

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.

The move was confirmed by both Rooney and her publisher, Faber, and means titles such as Normal People, Conversations with Friends and Intermezzo will disappear from UK bookshops.

She has also cancelled an upcoming trip to the UK over fears she could be arrested.

Rooney has previously expressed support for the group, which the UK government banned as a "terrorist" organisation in July 2025. It is not banned in Ireland, where Rooney lives.

The proscription, which the organisation is appealing, puts Palestine Action on the same blacklist as militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, making it illegal in the UK to be part of, support or finance it.

"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.

"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."

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.

"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.

"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.

Thousands have protested the ban and been detained in the process, while rights groups and some public figures have condemned it as criminalising dissent.

Palestine Action's stated goal on its website is to end "global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime".

Its proscription came after a series of high-profile stunts protesting the war in Gaza, including targeting weapons factories, especially those belonging to Israeli arms group Elbit.