Sally Rooney's Books Are Being Pulled in the U.K. Over Her Royalty Donations

Sally Rooney, the author behind Normal People and Conversations with Friends, is at the center of a legal showdown that could reshape how publishing works in the U.K. Her publisher, Faber&Faber, announced it will stop releasing her novels in the U.K. once current stock sells out. The reason isn’t her writing. It’s where her royalties are going. Rooney pledged to donate them to Palestine Action, a group the U.K. government designated as a terrorist organization, which makes providing money to it a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Both Faber and Rooney are describing the decision as joint. But the fallout is huge. Rooney’s books reportedly account for roughly 10 percent of Faber’s income in a release year, meaning the publisher is walking away from a significant chunk of revenue. The move is widely seen as a way to draw attention to the case before a Supreme Court appeal next month, where judges will weigh whether banning Palestine Action is proportionate under the law.

For readers, this raises uncomfortable questions. Can donating your own earnings be classified as funding terrorism? What happens to free speech when an author’s politics make her books unsellable in a major market? And what does a Supreme Court ruling here mean for activists, writers, and publishers going forward? The answers could set the tone for years to come.

What do you think? Should an author’s political donations affect whether their books stay on shelves?