Children’s Laureates Donate Royalties to Sally Rooney in Solidarity Over Palestine Action Support

LONDON — Two leading children’s laureates have pledged their royalties to author Sally Rooney in a show of solidarity after her UK publisher withdrew her books from circulation following her declaration of support for the proscribed group Palestine Action.

Irish laureate Chris Haughton and his Welsh counterpart Nicola Davies announced the move after Rooney stated she would direct proceeds from her UK sales to Palestine Action, an organization banned under British terrorism legislation. Providing financial support to the group carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.

Haughton described the situation as an “absurdity” during an interview with The Guardian. “As authors, we need to be focused on freedom of expression. This is everything we’re about, and this is just showing solidarity with an author who has bravely spoken out,” he said. “The entire situation is just a farce. Sending Sally Rooney the money adds another level of absurdity to this absurd situation — it’s making a mockery of the law.”

Haughton has previously been arrested twice for demonstrating in support of Palestine Action. “Palestine Action are the only organisation — or the most effective organisation — in the UK that has had some success in stopping arms going to a genocide. I’m very sure that I will be on the right side of history,” he added.

Davies, author of “The Day War Came,” a picture book about child refugees, framed her decision in moral terms. “I can’t say that I am standing up for the children of Wales if I allow the children of Gaza to be murdered and mutilated without comment,” she said. “Gaza is smaller than the Welsh county of Flintshire, and it’s as if all Wales’s children were concentrated there and being bombed.”

Davies confirmed she would donate the upcoming half-year royalties from “The Day War Came” to Rooney, noting that sales of the book had increased due to conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.

Palestine Action was proscribed last year, placing it in the same legal category as organizations such as Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently defended the designation before MPs, stating it followed “a rigorous and evidence-based process that came before this house, endorsed by parliament.”

A legal challenge against the group’s proscription is scheduled to be heard at the Supreme Court on November 4 and 5.

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