Two children’s laureates to give Sally Rooney royalties after ban on UK sales

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

correspondent, H. S. L. a. (2026, October 25). Two children’s laureates to give Sally Rooney royalties after ban on UK sales. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/25/ireland-wales-children-laureates-chris-haughton-nicola-davies-sally-rooney-royalties-ban-on-uk-sales

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-25 · by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent

Quick Summary

Children's laureates Chris Haughton from Ireland and Nicola Davies from Wales are donating royalties from their books to author Sally Rooney following her ban on UK book sales. The ban resulted from Rooney’s support for Palestine Action, which was proscribed under the UK Terrorism Act. Haughton and Davies express solidarity with Rooney’s stance on freedom of expression and criticize the absurdity of criminalizing literary proceeds tied to political activism.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-25, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

As of October 25, 2026, Chris Haughton, Ireland's children’s laureate, and another unnamed Welsh laureate are donating royalties from their books to Sally Rooney after UK bookstores banned sales of her works due to her support for Palestine Action. Haughton stated that he wants to demonstrate the "absurdity" of Rooney being unable to receive royalties in the UK because of her association with Palestine Action, which advocates against arms shipments to Israel. He also expressed solidarity with Rooney's stance on freedom of expression and criticized the ban as a farce that mocks the law. Rooney's works include Normal People and Conversations with Friends, and she has pledged to use proceeds from UK sales to support Palestine Action. Haughton added that he had been arrested twice for supporting Palestine Action, highlighting his commitment to the cause despite personal risks.

Written for “Sally Rooney Book Ban Royalties Controversy” on 2026-10-25, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Sally Rooney Book Ban Royalties Controversy
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
South China Morning Post
⚖️ Leans strongly left 🔴 33% hedged 1 of 3 📰 publisher trust 64
“The articles describe different actions related to Sally Rooney's ban in the UK but do not describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2428 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent
8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 After the ban was introduced, Rooney, whose books include Normal People and Conversations with Friends, said that she would use proceeds from her sales to support Palestine Action.
🔮 Phillips said that if the supreme court upheld the court of appeal’s decision when it hears the case on Wednesday and Thursday, it would prevent police from being held accountable for failures in cases of violence against women and girls.
🔮 The Irish novelist, whose books include Normal People and Conversations With Friends, said her public support for the direct action group meant she could no longer receive royalties from UK sales.
🔮 It is a disgrace that not a single government agency will take responsibility for checking on their welfare at slaughter.
🔮 Five defendants are accused by prosecutors of being part of a “black team”, wearing black jumpsuits, whose role was to overwhelm security guards, so that a “red team”, wearing red jumpsuits, could break into the Elbit systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, and smash up equipment including drones.
🔮 Free speech will be a big concern for voters at the next general election, with the government’s current approach on the issue perceived by many to be bad for Britain, polling suggests.
🔮 Phillips wrote: “The deputy judge is to be commended on his willingness to hear a case whilst recovering from injury and his fortitude in doing so in bed, in trying circumstances.
🔮 The 68-year-old will appear at Westminster magistrates court on a date to be fixed accused of indecently assaulting a girl aged 16 or 17 in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in 1991, the Metropolitan police said.
Also by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 8 articles by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent →

Topics

Ireland Palestine Action Wales al-Qaida the UK Terrorism Act

Subjects

Palestine Action ORG · 6× Sally Rooney PERSON · 4× Wales PERSON · 4× Haughton PERSON · 3× Ireland GPE · 2× Rooney PERSON · 2× Boko Haram ORG · 1× Chris Haughton PERSON · 1× Nicola Davies PERSON · 1× al-Qaida ORG · 1×

Narrative

Haughton, who will be donating royalties from his UK book sales, said: “Palestine Action are the only organisation – or the most effective organisation – in the UK that 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.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-25
🔮 After the ban was introduced, Rooney, whose books include Normal People and Conversations with Friends, said that she would use proceeds from her sales to support Palestine Action.

Claims (16 extracted, 2 hedged)

The children’s laureates for Ireland and Wales are donating royalties from their works to Sally Rooney in a show of solidarity after she was forced to stop selling books in the UK because of her support for Palestine Action. asserted
she → donate → Action
Chris Haughton, Ireland’s children’s literature laureate, said he also wanted to demonstrate the “absurdity” of the bestselling author being unable to receive royalties from her own UK sales because of her public support for the direct action group. asserted
author → say → group
Haughton, whose books have sold millions worldwide, said: “I really want to express my full support for Sally Rooney. asserted
I → sell → Rooney
As someone who is in the UK a lot of the time, I can’t do what she has done, but I can support her instead of supporting Palestine Action. asserted
I → do → Action
“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. asserted
who → need → author
Sending Sally Rooney the money adds another level of absurdity to this absurd situation, it’s making a mockery of the law.” asserted
it → send → law
Haughton said he has twice been arrested for holding placards allegedly supporting Palestine Action, which became the first direct action group to be proscribed under the UK Terrorism Act in July last year, placing it in the same category as the likes of al-Qaida and Boko Haram. uncertain
which → say → Qaida
His alleged offence carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison. asserted
offence → carry → prison
After the ban was introduced, Rooney, whose books include Normal People and Conversations with Friends, said that she would use proceeds from her sales to support Palestine Action. asserted
she → introduce → Action
Providing money one knows or has reasonable cause to suspect will or may be used for terrorism carries a maximum jail term of 14 years. uncertain
one → provide → years
Nicola Davies, children’s laureate for Wales and author of The Day War Came, about a child refugee from war, said: “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. asserted
children → come → comment
“Gaza is smaller than the Welsh county of Flintshire, and it’s as if all Wales’s children were concentrated there and being bombed. asserted
children → ’ → Flintshire
So I support Sally Rooney in the stand she’s taken, and when my half-year royalties arrive shortly, I will donate to her the royalties from my book The Day War Came, whose sales have been boosted by the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.” asserted
sales → support → Ukraine
Haughton, who will be donating royalties from his UK book sales, said: “Palestine Action are the only organisation – or the most effective organisation – in the UK that 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.” asserted
I → donate → history
Asked at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday whether he would review the ban on Palestine Action in light of Rooney’s situation, Andy Burnham said proscription “followed a rigorous and evidence-based process that came before this house, endorsed by parliament”. asserted
that → ask → parliament
He said he would not comment further given that the supreme court is due to hear a legal challenge to the ban, on the basis that it interferes disproportionately with the rights to freedom of expression and protest, on 4 and 5 November. asserted
it → say → November
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