Full list of celebrities and public figures to sign open letter against Sally Rooney book ban

Rooney's books were banned last week

Last week, publisher Faber & Faber confirmed it had reached an agreement with the Irish author to stop supplying her books in Britain, in any format. 

The move followed concerns about the legal implications of Rooney’s support for Palestine Action, which the UK Government banned under terrorism legislation in July 2025.

Rooney has since made clear that she intends to continue supporting the organisation, which is not proscribed in the Republic of Ireland. 

She has also warned that fulfilling publishing contracts in the UK could now constitute a criminal offence.

‘She is a writer, not a terrorist’

The controversy has prompted a group of prominent public figures to speak out in her defence. 

An open letter supporting Rooney features on the cover of this week’s New Statesman, with its signatories criticising the consequences of the Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action.

Among those who have signed are Gary Lineker, Normal People actors Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, music group Young Fathers, Tilda Swinton and author Irvine Welsh.

Their intervention comes just two weeks before the Supreme Court is due to hear a case concerning Palestine Action’s proscription.

In the letter, the group writes: “Sally Rooney is a writer, not a terrorist. Her books must be available to the public.

“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.

“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.”

Every celebrity and public figure who signed the letter supporting Sally Rooney

• Adam Tooze
• Afua Hirsch
• Ahdaf Soueif
• AK Blakemore
• Alexei Sayle
• Alison Oliver
• Amia Srinivasan
• Amit Chaudhuri
• Amitav Ghosh
• Amitava Kumar
• Andrea Calderwood
• Andreas Malm
• Andrew Motion
• Angharad Hampshire
• Anika Jade Levy
• Anna Burns
• Anne Carson
• Anne Enright
• Annie Ernaux
• Annie Macmanus
• Annie Proulx
• Anthony Barnett
• Antonia Lloyd-Jones
• Arifa Akbar
• Armando Iannucci
• Arundhati Roy
• Asif Kapadia
• Avi Shlaim
• Bella Freud
• Ben Ehrenreich
• Ben Lerner
• Ben Rivers
• Benjamin Moser
• Bernardine Evaristo
• Blake Morrison
• Caryl Churchill
• Chris Kraus
• Chris Power
• Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (CMAT)
• Colm Tóibín
• Colum McCann
• Cornelia Parker
• Daisy Edgar-Jones
• David Edgar
• David Farr
• David Wengrow
• Deborah Levy
• Diana Evans
• Ed Gillespie
• Eleanor Catton
• Elif Batuman
• Emily Wilson
• Faiza Shaheen
• Fatima Bhutto
• Fionn O’Shea
• Francis Spufford
• Francisco Garcia
• Gary Lineker
• Geoff Dyer
• George Saunders
• Hannah Lillith Assadi
• Hassan Abdulrazzak
• Hermione Hoby
• Hisham Matar
• Inua Ellams
• Irvine Welsh
• Jacqueline Rose
• Jacques Testard
• James Meek
• James Wilson
• Jeanette Winterson
• Jeff McMahan
• Jeremy Corbyn
• Jessie Buckley
• Jhumpa Lahiri
• JM Coetzee
• John Akomfrah
• Jolyon Maugham
• Jonathan Glazer
• Jonathon Porritt
• Josh Cohen
• Judith Herrin
• Julian Barnes
• Juliet Stevenson
• Kate Nash
• Kate Zambreno
• Kathy Lette
• Kaveh Akbar
• Kieran Morris
• Kneecap
• Lamorna Ash
• Laura Wade
• Lauren J Joseph
• Lenny Abrahamson
• Maaza Mengiste
• Madeline Cash
• Madra Salach
• Margie Orford
• Marian Keyes
• Mark O’Connell
• Maxine Peake
• Megha Mohan
• Merve Emre
• Michael Frayn
• Michael Magee
• Michael Rosen
• Mike Dibb
• Mobeen Azhar
• Monica Ali
• Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
• Namwali Serpell
• Naoise Dolan
• Naomi Klein
• Neel Mukherjee
• Nicole Flattery
• Nikita Lalwani
• Nitin Sawhney
• Olivia Hetreed
• Olivia Laing
• Omar El Akkad
• Omar Robert Hamilton
• Orlando Reade
• Owen Jones
• Patricia Lockwood
• Paul Mescal
• Peter Singer
• Priyamvada Gopal
• Ramita Navai
• Rana Dasgupta
• Rebecca Perry
• Rob Doyle
• Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack)
• Rowan Moore
• Sally Potter
• Samuel West
• Sangita Myska
• Sarah Hall
• Seamas O’Reilly
• Shahidha Bari
• Shami Chakrabarti
• Sharon Horgan
• Sheila Heti
• Slavoj Žižek
• Sophie Kemp
• Sophie Smith
• Stephanie Wambugu
• Sunny Singh
• Susan Bernofsky
• Susan Sarandon
• Tariq Ali
• Tessa Hadley
• Tilda Swinton
• Tom Overton
• Wendy Brown
• William Boyd
• William Dalrymple
• Xiaolu Guo
• Young Fathers
• Zadie Smith