Normal People author Sally Rooney’s books can no longer be sold in the UK – this is why

Sally Rooney is one of this generation’s most-loved authors, thanks to her bestselling books including Normal People and Conversations With Friends.

The Irish author, 35, has become a cultural phenomenon in recent years thanks to her deeply intimate takes on relationships in her novels, and capturing the mindsets and anxieties of millennials in a real and raw way.

As well as her literary success, she has been behind two huge BBC adaptations of her books – Normal People in 2020 and Conversations With Friends in 2022.

However, Rooney has now said that her books will no longer be sold in the UK – where she has a huge fanbase – due to her support of the banned protest group Palestine Action.

The ban, which began in July last year, made membership of, or support for, the direct-action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Rooney previously said she would donate earnings from her books and BBC adaptations of novels to Palestine Action, which has a goal of ‘ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime’.

As a result, Rooney’s publisher, Faber, has determined it cannot sell her novels in Britain.

In a statement, Rooney said: ‘In July 2025, the direct-action protest group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

‘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.

‘As a result, the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the UK 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 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.’

In September 2025, Rooney cancelled a trip to London to accept the Sky Arts Award for literature over concerns she could be arrested if she entered the country over her support for Palestine Action.

Supporters of the group have staged regular protests in defiance of the Government’s ban, leading to hundreds of arrests under terrorist legislation.

Rooney has been hailed ‘brave’ for her support of Palestine Action by the organisation, given the ramifications for her professional status in the UK.

Palestine Action co-founder, Huda Ammori, said: ‘Sally Rooney being unable to publish her work in the UK marks a new low in the escalating assault on free speech caused by the proscription of Palestine Action.

‘A world-renowned author fearing arrest and being forced to remove her books from our bookstores, exposes the chilling consequences of this authoritarian law, which has been used to make over 3,700 arrests for simply holding seven word signs.

‘The ban on Palestine Action was only introduced to serve the interests of the Israel lobby and the Israeli arms industry at the expense of the fundamental freedoms of British citizens.’

Ammori criticised Andy Burnham’s Government for ‘choosing to defend’ the ban on Palestine Action, rather than using its power to overturn it.

‘Sally Rooney took a brave and principled stand from the moment plans to ban Palestine Action were announced,’ Ammori continued.

‘She has refused to compromise her convictions, even at considerable personal and professional cost.

‘Her work should be celebrated and widely available — not driven off the shelves of British bookshops because she refuses to be complicit in the suppression of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

‘No author should have to choose between their principles and their freedom to publish.

‘Her treatment should be deeply alarming to everyone who cares about freedom of speech.’

In a statement, Green Party leader Zack Polanski said: ”A couple of weeks ago, Labour said they’d got it wrong on Gaza.

‘Now they have banned books by Sally Rooney, one of the most celebrated and influential authors of recent times. Labour’s authoritarian and ludicrous law has turned the country into a laughing stock around the world and the proscription on Palestine Action must be overturned now.’