Sally Rooney books withdrawn from sale in UK over Palestine Action support

Publisher Faber says withdrawal due to ‘circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney’.

Sally Rooney, novelist, at the Hay Festival on May 28, 2017 in Hay-on-Wye, United Kingdom [David Levenson/Getty Images]

Irish novelist Sally Rooney says her books have been withdrawn from sale in the United Kingdom due to her public support for Palestine Action , a group the British government has designated as a terrorist organisation.

Rooney’s publisher Faber said on Wednesday that the withdrawal was due to “circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work”, calling it an “unconscionable situation for a publisher”.

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Rooney told BBC News that the further publication of her work could constitute a “serious criminal offence”.

She added that she made “every effort to be honest” with the public about her beliefs and intentions and that she is “wholly prepared to accept the consequences”.

The Ebook editions of her work have been removed from sale in the UK, but a number of physical copies of her books are still available in shops.

Rooney has received critical acclaim for her novels, including Normal People and Conversations With Friends, which have sold millions of copies globally. The two novels were adapted for television by the BBC.

The UK government outlawed Palestine Action in July 2025, after activists from the group broke into a Royal Air Force base and sprayed red paint on two aircraft to protest against Britain’s military support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Being a member or a supporter of the group in the UK is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

After the ban took effect, Rooney wrote in the Irish Times that she would continue to support Palestine Action and if that makes her a “‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it”.

She has publicly said she would use her earnings from her novels and adaptations to support the group. In September 2025, Rooney could not travel to the UK to receive an award due to fear of arrest.

Independent Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn, who has recently been banned from entering Israel for his support for Palestine, said the situation showed the “complete absurdity of the proscription of Palestine Action”.

“What a stain on this government that people in this country are unable to buy and enjoy the work of one of this generation’s greatest writing talents,” he wrote in a statement on X.

John McDonnell, a Labour MP, released a statement saying he does not want anyone in the UK “to miss out on her wonderful writing”.

出版商 Faber 表示，撤回出版协议是由于“Faber 无法将英国的收入转给 Sally Rooney 的情况”。

2017 年 5 月 28 日，小说家萨莉·鲁尼出席在英国海伊镇举行的海伊文学节。[David Levenson/Getty Images]

爱尔兰小说家萨莉·鲁尼表示，由于她公开支持巴勒斯坦行动组织（该组织已被英国政府认定为恐怖组织），她的书籍已在英国停止销售。

鲁尼的出版商费伯出版社周三表示，撤回合作是因为“费伯出版社无法将英国的收入支付给萨莉·鲁尼作为她作品的报酬”，并称这种情况对出版商来说是“不合情理的”。

英国就小说家萨莉·鲁尼承诺资助巴勒斯坦行动一事向其发出警告（共3条，第1条）

名单2/3：萨莉·鲁尼和格蕾塔·通贝里在巴勒斯坦上诉案前支持巴勒斯坦行动

英国高等法院裁决支持巴勒斯坦行动组织胜诉，以下列出3起上诉案件中的第3起

鲁尼告诉 BBC 新闻，进一步发表她的作品可能构成“严重的刑事犯罪”。

她补充说，她“尽一切努力对公众坦诚相待”，并“完全准备好承担后果”。

她的作品电子书版本已在英国下架，但她的书籍实体版仍在一些商店有售。

鲁尼的小说广受好评，其中包括《正常人》和《与朋友对话》，这两部作品在全球销量达数百万册。BBC曾将这两部小说改编成电视剧。

2025 年 7 月，英国政府取缔了巴勒斯坦行动组织。此前，该组织的活动人士闯入英国皇家空军基地，并在两架飞机上喷涂红漆，以抗议英国对以色列在加沙发动的种族灭绝战争提供军事支持。

在英国，成为该组织的成员或​​支持者最高可判处 14 年监禁。

禁令生效后，鲁尼在《爱尔兰时报》上撰文表示，她将继续支持巴勒斯坦行动组织，如果这使她根据英国法律成为“‘恐怖主义支持者’，那就这样吧”。

她曾公开表示，将用自己小说和改编作品的收入来支持该组织。2025年9月，鲁尼因担心被捕而未能前往英国领奖。

因支持巴勒斯坦而被以色列禁止入境的独立议员杰里米·科尔宾表示，这种情况表明“取缔巴勒斯坦行动完全是荒谬的”。

“这个国家的人民无法购买和欣赏当代最伟大的作家之一的作品，这真是本届政府的一大污点，”他在 X 杂志上发表声明写道。

工党议员约翰·麦克唐纳发表声明称，他不希望英国的任何人“错过她精彩的作品”。