Sally Rooney book sales surge in United Kingdom amid withdrawal controversy

Booksellers in the United Kingdom have reported selling out of copies of works by Irish author Sally Rooney after her titles were set to be withdrawn from sale. The Irish Examiner and the Guardian both report that readers have rushed to purchase her novels before stocks run out. The surge follows restrictions related to her support for the group Palestine Action. [1][5]

The Irish Examiner reported that Sally Rooney sold 4,531 copies in a single week. That figure represents a 291 percent increase from the week before her announcement. As FTMQ News reported earlier, her publisher Faber and Faber cannot pass on royalties to Rooney due to British anti-terrorism legislation because Palestine Action is a proscribed terrorist organisation. [1][15]

Dozens of high profile figures have signed an open letter published in the New Statesman in support of the author. Literary Hub, RTE, Independent.ie, and the Irish Times report that signatories include authors Zadie Smith, Annie Ernaux, Arundhati Roy, Ali Smith, and Kamila Shamsie, along with actors Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Jessie Buckley, and broadcaster Gary Lineker. Literary Hub and Independent.ie noted that the letter asserts Rooney is a writer and not a terrorist. [1][3][6][7][9]

Rooney was raised in Castlebar, County Mayo, and graduated in English from Trinity College Dublin. She is best known for her novels Conversations with Friends, Normal People, Beautiful World, Where Are You, and Intermezzo. [12][14]

In other developments connected to the dispute, the Telegraph reported that the BBC is investigating after one of its journalists expressed support for the novelist. Meanwhile, Independent.ie reported that signatories of the open letter continue to urge the United Kingdom government to change course on censorship. [4][7]