Sally Rooney book sales rise 291% after UK supply halt

Nielsen BookScan figures reported by the Guardian on 21 October show that 4,531 copies of Sally Rooney’s books sold in the UK in a week, up 291% on the week before her publisher announced it would stop supplying them to UK retailers. Some booksellers say they have since sold out and cannot order replacements.

Faber announced the UK supply halt on 14 October, saying British law prevented it from passing UK earnings on to Rooney. She had said she would use proceeds from her work to support Palestine Action, which the UK proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July 2025. Faber said it made the decision with Rooney’s agreement and would continue supplying her books elsewhere.

The decision is not a government ban on Rooney’s books: shops can still sell copies they already have. Bookmarked in Bristol told the Guardian it sold its remaining three Rooney books within hours of Faber’s announcement. Juno Books in Sheffield said it had sold out, while a bookseller in Kent found the titles unavailable to reorder from a major wholesaler. Kennys Bookshop in Galway reported a tenfold rise in Rooney sales, with most of the increase coming from British buyers.

The 291% figure measures copies sold, not how many people tried to buy a book. The accounts of individual shops also do not establish how widespread stock shortages are across the UK.