Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones Defend Sally Rooney as U.K. Pulls Her Books

Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones have signed an open letter declaring "Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist" after the author's books were pulled from U.K. shops over anti-terror legislation. The letter, published in the New Statesman, urges the British government to amend the law that made selling her work legally impossible.

Mescal and Edgar-Jones starred in the 2020 TV adaptation of Rooney's novel "Normal People," the series that made them household names. They're not alone in backing her. Mescal's Oscar-winning "Hamnet" co-star Jessie Buckley, "Normal People" director Lenny Abrahamson, Jonathan Glazer, Irvine Welsh, Susan Sarandon, Tilda Swinton, the band Kneecap and Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja have all signed.

Why are Rooney's books banned in the U.K.?

The mechanism matters here. U.K. authorities proscribed Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group, as a terrorism organization. Rooney has supported the group publicly — last year she said she intended to keep using her royalties to fund it.

That puts publishers in a legal bind. Passing money to Rooney could count as financing a proscribed organization. Rooney revealed earlier this month that efforts to publish her work in the U.K. "could now constitute a serious criminal offence."

Her U.K. and Ireland publisher Faber confirmed the problem. "Current legislation in the U.K. has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on U.K. earnings to Sally Rooney for her work," the publisher said, adding that it was therefore withdrawing her books from U.K. shops.

What does the letter actually say?

The statement opens bluntly: "Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist. Her books must be available to the public."

It goes on to attack the law itself. "Their withdrawal from sale, on the basis of ill-conceived and draconian anti-terror legislation, is an affront to basic principles of free speech and expression so long taken for granted in this country," the letter reads. "We categorically reject censorship – whether direct or indirect – and urge the government to change course, amending the legislation which has led us to this point of repressive absurdity."

Note the framing. The signatories aren't disputing the proscription of Palestine Action directly — they're arguing that the side effects on publishing and free expression are disproportionate.

What does this change for readers and writers?

For U.K. readers, Rooney's catalog — "Normal People," "Conversations With Friends" and her latest novel "Intermezzo" — is now effectively unavailable through legitimate retail channels. For authors, the case sets an uncomfortable precedent: political donations from literary income can, under this legislation, make a writer's entire body of work unpublishable in a major market.

The involvement of Mescal, Edgar-Jones and Buckley also raises the profile considerably. This is no longer a publishing-industry dispute but a celebrity-backed free-speech campaign aimed squarely at Westminster. The government now faces pressure to amend the legislation — or to explain why a bestselling novelist's books belong off U.K. shelves.