Sally Rooney's books will no longer be sold in U.K. after support for pro-Palestinian group

Sally Rooney's books are displayed for sale at a bookshop in London, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Kin Cheung/AP hide caption

Irish author Sally Rooney has long been described as "the voice of a generation" for her best-selling novels that are ostensibly about millennial relationships but also explore deeper questions of class, gender and politics.

Now the 35-year-old writer's books will no longer be sold in the UK because of her own closely-held political beliefs. She had promised to donate the revenues to Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group that the UK has designated a terrorist organization.

In a statement this week, her publisher explained: "Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK 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 UK in any format," Faber said.

The move comes after Rooney — who has said she believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza — announced last year she would be donating funds from the proceeds of her books to Palestine Action, which was controversially banned in the U.K. under terrorism legislation.

UK-based Palestine Action says on its website it uses "disruptive tactics" to target "corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians."

It has targeted facilities linked to an Israeli weapons manufacturer and, in a major security breach, last year managed to break into Britain's largest air force base. The activists spray-painted two aircraft at the base blood red, in what the group said was a protest against Britain's military support for Israel.