Sales of Sally Rooney's books have been halted in the UK after her publisher Faber announced it would stop supplying her work, citing UK legislation linked to her support for the proscribed group Palestine Action. The decision has triggered a rush on remaining copies, with sales jumping nearly 300% in a week, and drawn support from prominent writers and booksellers.
Sales surge and stock shortages
Nielsen BookScan told the Guardian that Rooney sold 4,531 copies last week, up 291% from the week before the announcement. Independent bookshops report selling out of her novels within hours of Faber's announcement, with many unable to restock because wholesalers have marked her titles as unavailable.
Bookmarked, an independent bookshop in Bristol, had three Sally Rooney novels in stock when Faber made its announcement last week. Within hours, customers had bought all of them, and the shop now has none and cannot get any more. "In retrospect, I feel like we should have put them behind a glass casing, forever on display until the law is overturned," said the shop's general manager Evelyn.
Faber's books "have just been immediately taken down from the suppliers' website, which feels really eerie", she added. "What worries me most is the precedent that it sets … We're becoming increasingly used to seeing this type of stuff happen in other countries, but this is happening on our doorstep."
Legal context and author's stance
Rooney has said she would use proceeds from her books and their BBC adaptations to support Palestine Action. The direct action group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025, making support a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The high court ruled the proscription unlawful in February, but the court of appeal overturned that decision in June, and the ban remains in force.
Last week, Faber said UK legislation meant it could not pass on UK earnings to Rooney, and that it had decided, with her full agreement, to stop supplying her work. Copies already in shops can still be sold but cannot be replenished. In August 2025, Rooney wrote in the Irish Times that if supporting the group made her "a 'supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it". She has since said she could no longer safely travel to the UK without facing arrest, sending her editor to collect an award in London on her behalf.
Booksellers' response and cross-border trade
At Juno Books in Sheffield, Alim Kheraj said the situation felt unprecedented. "We've had people coming in asking if they can buy the books specifically to support Rooney," he said. "But we're completely sold out. I can't think of another time where a publisher has had to pull a book because of comments [an author has] made about a specific organisation," he added. "It feels quite frightening."
Across the Irish Sea, a kind of book smuggling, entirely above board as far as the booksellers involved understand it, has sprung up almost overnight. Kennys Bookshop in Galway, which ships worldwide, says its Rooney sales have risen tenfold since the announcement, with 95% of the increase coming from Britain. Northern Ireland, which has access to both the UK and Irish markets after Brexit, has become a conduit, with some booksellers there openly continuing to stock Rooney by sourcing her books from the Republic and posting them across the water.
Lesley Price, who runs Bridge Books in Co Down, says she has been "inundated" with website orders, most heading to Britain, and that sales were up "tenfold, if not more". "I don't believe in book banning," she said. "I know it's not a ban, but I guess it is a censorship of sorts, and that does not sit well with me." She noted that while the response online has mostly been positive, "there have also been quite a lot of people calling me a terrorist sympathiser and wishing harm on my business."
Writers rally and future impact
Writers have rallied behind Rooney. An open letter signed by hundreds including Patrick Ness, Damian Barr and Juno Dawson called on the government to act. A second letter, published by the New Statesman and signed by writers including Zadie Smith, Annie Ernaux, Naomi Klein and new Nobel literature laureate Anne Carson, declared: "Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist." Normal People stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal are also signatories, along with Gary Lineker.
Jemimah Steinfeld, chief executive of Index on Censorship, said proscribing Palestine Action "highlighted that the Terrorism Act is too broad in structure and application". "The arrests of thousands of peaceful protesters that followed made this point even stronger." She called the situation "really a test case", adding that Faber's caution was "fully understandable" because "we're on new ground". Ireland's foreign affairs minister, Helen McEntee, has said she will raise the matter directly with the UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband.
The real test will come with Rooney's next release. Her latest novel, Intermezzo, was published two years ago. "What happens when she has a new book coming out, which I would say is not that far away?" said Tómas Kenny of Kennys Bookshop. "Will it be available in the UK? That, to me, will be a far bigger story." For independent shops, the stakes are high: "It's really some titles, like Sally Rooney, that will make or break your year."
