Sally Rooney's Books Pulled From UK Shops Over Palestine Action Support
Faber & Faber, the London publisher behind Sally Rooney's novels, has stopped supplying her books in the UK. The company says her public support for Palestine Action is the reason.
Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian group that the UK government has banned as a terrorist organisation. About a month after that ban, Rooney said she planned to use money from her work to support the group. ARTnews
Faber told the BBC that current UK law has created circumstances in which it cannot pass UK earnings on to Rooney. BBC News In a statement, Rooney said the publisher had decided, after talks with her and with her full agreement, that it can no longer supply her work within the UK. She said carrying out publishing contracts could amount to a serious criminal offence.
The law she refers to is Section 15 of the UK's Terrorism Act. It makes it a crime to give money or property when you know, or have reason to suspect, it may be used for terrorism. The maximum sentence is 14 years in prison. Rooney has also said she cancelled a trip to the UK to collect an award, out of fear of arrest. ARTnews
Dozens of artists and writers have now signed an open letter in her defence. It was published in the New Statesman, a British political and cultural magazine. The letter says "Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist," and calls the removal of her books from sale an affront to free speech.
The names include the artists John Akomfrah and Ben Rivers, the historian William Dalrymple, the novelist Kate Zambreno and the writer Zadie Smith. The actor Paul Mescal and the director Jonathan Glazer also signed. The National reports that Gary Lineker, Tilda Swinton and Irvine Welsh are among the supporters too. The National
The row has also reached Downing Street's inner circle. The Guardian reported that Jonathan Powell, the UK's national security adviser, has faced pressure over his wife's writing. The author Sarah Helm, who is married to Powell, wrote a letter backing Rooney's support for Palestine Action. The Guardian
Rooney has taken political stands before. In 2021 she turned down an Israeli translation of her novel Beautiful World, Where Are You on political grounds. She also joined more than 600 musicians in signing a letter urging artists to boycott performances at Israel's cultural institutions. The Guardian
For readers in the UK, the practical result is that Rooney's titles are no longer being supplied by her publisher there. For writers and publishers, the case is a test of how far anti-terrorism law reaches into ordinary book contracts. The Guardian has run a podcast on the question of why terrorism law stopped Rooney selling her books in the UK. The Guardian
