Publisher Faber announced in mid-October, in agreement with Rooney, that it could no longer distribute her books in the United Kingdom because it could not transfer her UK earnings after she declared she would donate them to Palestine Action.

The group was banned by the UK government in July 2025 under anti-terrorism laws, making it illegal in Britain to belong to, support or finance it, though it is not prohibited in Ireland, where Rooney lives.

'To sell a writer's work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher,' Faber said, per The Hindu.

The supply gap has turned into a windfall for booksellers just across the border. Jenni Doherty of Little Acorns Bookstore in Londonderry, part of the UK but next to the Irish border, orders stock through Irish distributors and ships worldwide, telling AFP 'We're not banned from selling the books.'

The Gulf Today report notes Kenny's Bookshop in Galway has seen a tenfold increase in Rooney novel sales since Faber's decision, and Doherty says she has drawn many new customers and inquiries from British booksellers seeking alternative suppliers.

The dispute resonates in Derry, a city shaped by civil-rights campaigns and the Troubles, and Doherty told AFP it recalls Ireland's history of literary censorship affecting writers including Edna O'Brien, Samuel Beckett and John McGahern: 'It's as if we're going backwards rather than forwards.'

The books themselves are not banned, and existing UK stock can remain on sale, but Rooney's novels now sit prominently on the counter instead of alphabetical shelves, sparking what Doherty calls 'honest, personal conversations.' Her verdict: 'A banned book is a bought book.'

Faber says it remains Rooney's publisher and will keep selling her work outside Britain, while some British shops have taken the opposite path: Vicki Shenkin Kerr of London's Bard Books, per Gulf Today, sold out her remaining copies in days but declined to import more, saying 'we wouldn't feel comfortable selling a book where the author isn't getting the royalties' and that 'it does feel like a silencing.'

Palestine Action's proscription is being challenged by co-founder Huda Ammori, with Britain's Supreme Court due to hear an appeal on Wednesday and Thursday.