Sally Rooney Stands By Her Principles

Sally Rooney, one of the most popular novelists alive, says she will no longer sell her books in the U.K. In 2025, the British government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, and in August of that year, Rooney published an op-ed in The Irish Times titled, “I support Palestine Action. If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it.” Now, because the laws have not changed, Rooney and her publisher Faber & Faber announced this week that they will no longer be publishing her work in the U.K.

Rooney’s novels have sold more than 2 million copies in the U.K. alone, a monumental number for any modern novelist. Her books Normal People and Conversations with Friends have been adapted for television. In her op-ed last year, Rooney stated that she intended to give the royalties from her books sold in the U.K., as well as her residuals from the television adaptions of her novels, to Palestine Action, a direct action network known for disrupting weapon manufacturers that sell arms to Israel. Under U.K. anti-terrorism laws, Rooney’s publisher can no longer give her the royalties for her novels, knowing that she will donate them to Palestine Action, without putting them both at risk.

Technically, Rooney’s books could still be sold in the U.K., but she would not be paid for their sales. Her publisher did not want to withhold the earnings from her. “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,” Faber & Faber said in a statement.

This is an admirable collaboration between Rooney and her publisher, which also publishes Rooney in Ireland and abroad. They can’t legally pay her the money she’s earned, so they agree that no more books will be sold there. The gamble that the British government seems to have made is assuming that artists would rather receive royalties from sales in the U.K. than stand by their principles. This decision calls their bluff. Rooney can afford to stand on her principles. It’s a choice that will cost her money, but brings awareness to an ongoing injustice of legislation.

“The fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the UK could now constitute a serious criminal offence,” Rooney wrote in a statement to the Irish Times. “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. I have no further comment at this time.”

Many other artists and their publishers would choose money over principles. A few already have. Perhaps this exemplifies the difference between artists who claim to be “culturally Irish” and Irish artists.