Sally Rooney wasn’t able to travel to the UK to collect a literary prize this week because, if she did, she faced the threat of arrest, according to a statement read by her editor. Last month, the Normal People author reiterated her support for the protest group Palestine Action, after it was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK. Technically, this puts her at risk of up to 14 years’ imprisonment.
“I wish that I could be with you this evening,” she told the audience via Faber editor Alex Bowler, as he accepted the Sky Arts award for literature on her behalf, for her latest novel Intermezzo. “But because of my support for non-violent, anti-war protest, I’m advised that I can no longer safely enter the UK without potentially facing arrest.”
Despite not being able to step foot on UK soil – where more than 1,600 people have been arrested for supporting Palestine Action since July – Rooney said she was “touched and grateful” to receive the prize. “I truly loved writing Intermezzo and it means the world to me to think that it has found some small place in the lives of its readers – thank you.”
Given the UK government’s crackdown on freedom of expression around Israel’s genocide in Gaza, she added: “I want to thank you all the more warmly for honouring my work tonight, and to reiterate my belief in the dignity and beauty of all human life, and my solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
Last month, the author pledged to use income from her work, including the BBC adaptations of Normal People and Conversations With Friends, to support the efforts of groups like Palestine Action. “I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action,” she said, “and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.”