Sally Rooney book sales surge as UK stores face stock depletion

Booksellers in the UK have reported selling out of works by Irish author Sally Rooney after it was announced that her books would be withdrawn from sale in the country, The Guardian reported. The withdrawal follows her support for Palestine Action, a group that is proscribed as a terrorist organization in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000. Sales of her books rose by nearly 300 percent in a single week, according to The Guardian. [1][7][13]

In response to the controversy, dozens of writers, actors, and public figures published an open letter in The New Statesman asserting that Sally Rooney is a writer and not a terrorist, Literary Hub and The Hollywood Reporter both reported. Signatories to the letter include Zadie Smith, Annie Ernaux, Arundhati Roy, Ali Smith, Kamila Shamsie, Paul Mescal, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Susan Sarandon, Tilda Swinton, and Armando Iannucci, according to The Guardian, Literary Hub, and The Hollywood Reporter. [1][2][6]

Amid the rising sales and dwindling retail stocks, the Booksellers Association advised that importing and selling Sally Rooney books in the UK is unlikely to cause legal issues, according to The Bookseller. [3]

Rooney is the author of novels including Conversations with Friends, Normal People, Beautiful World, Where Are You, and Intermezzo. Palestine Action was established in 2020 as a British direct action network focused on protesting Israeli military actions and targeting defense suppliers such as Elbit Systems. [12][13]