Irish novelist Sally Rooney claimed that Britain’s choice to classify pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation could prevent her from getting royalties and potentially cause her books to be pulled from sale owing to her endorsement of the group.
The bestselling novelist stated in a witness statement released on Thursday, the second day of a legal battle to reverse the prohibition, that production company Element Pictures harboured fear that paying her revenues could be a crime.
Element Pictures, which adapted Rooney’s novels “Normal People” and “Conversations with Friends” for the BBC, contacted her agency in September after Rooney stated that she would use profits to aid Palestine Action.
In her submission to the London High Court, Rooney also stated that “my existing works may have to be withdrawn from sale” in Britain because it was unclear under the law if her publishing company, Faber & Faber, could pay her remuneration on book sales.
“The disappearance of my work from bookshops would mark a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression,” she stated in her statement.
The witness statement was as follows: “ It is almost certain that I can no longer publish or produce any new work within the UK while this proscription remains in effect. If Palestine Action is still proscribed by the time my next book is due for publication, then that book will be available to readers all over the world and in dozens of languages, but will be unavailable to readers in the United Kingdom simply because no one will be permitted to publish it (unless I am content to give it away for free).”
Faber & Faber or Element Pictures did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rooney’s testimony was submitted to the court on behalf of Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action, who contends that calling the group a terrorist organisation is an oppressive limitation on protest.
