Irish novelist Sally Rooney's books will no longer be sold in the UK after she said she planned to use her royalties to support the banned campaign group Palestine Action.
The bestselling author, who is known for novels including Normal People and Conversations with Friends, has been a vocal supporter of Palestine Action, which was proscribed by the British government under terrorism laws last year.
Ms Rooney had previously said that her plans could lead to her books being withdrawn from sale in the UK, in a witness statement to London's High Court that challenged the government's ban.
Her publisher Faber said on Wednesday that it had agreed with Ms Rooney that "we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format". However, it will continue to sell her works elsewhere.
"Current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work," Faber said in a statement. "To sell a writer's work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher."
Ms Rooney said in a statement: "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."
Palestine Action's sources of funding came under scrutiny after the government suggested it was backed by Iran, but the group has rejected the allegations. The group has continued to seek donations online despite being banned in the UK.
Its co-founder Huda Ammori will challenge the decision to ban the group at the Supreme Court next month. The High Court had previously ruled that the ban on the group was unlawful, but the Court of Appeal then overturned this in favour of the Home Office's decision.
Thousands of campaigners have been arrested in the UK for expressing support for Palestine Action after the ban. They include Robert Del Naja of the band Massive Attack, who was arrested for the second time last month.
Ms Rooney has criticised the arrests, some of which have affected Irish citizens in the UK. Last year she wrote in The Irish Times that they were "selective enforcement of anti-terror law".
She highlighted the activities of supporters of another proscribed organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), who had repainted a loyalist mural in north Belfast after it was damaged by a storm last year.
“No arrests were made on that basis, nor has the mural been taken down, though the UVF is a proscribed terrorist organisation responsible for the murders of hundreds of civilians," she said.
“Palestine Action, proscribed under the same law, is responsible for zero deaths and has never advocated the use of violence against any human being. Why then are its supporters arrested for wearing T-shirts, while murals celebrating loyalist death squads are left untouched?”
Ms Rooney is not the first high-profile donor to Palestine Action. James "Fergie" Chambers, an American communist and heir to a multibillion-pound conglomerate, said in a 2023 interview that he was paying Palestine Action’s legal fees.
