Children’s Literature Laureates for Ireland and Wales, Chris Haughton and Nicola Davies, have pledged the royalties from the sale of their works to Irish novelist Sally Rooney.
Rooney is a favourite target of the far right for her support for Palestinians against Israel’s genocide. The sale of her books has been blocked in the UK because she supports anti-genocide action group and her publishers would not be allowed to pass on royalties from their sale.
Costly solidarity
But the two laureates say that they will place no limits on how Rooney uses the funds. Ireland’s Haughton, author of books like Oh No, George! said:
I fully support Sally Rooney’s stance. Palestine Action have done more to block the illegal arms sales to Israel than any other organisation in the UK. I will therefore be using proceeds from my own UK book sales to donate to Sally Rooney in support. It’s up to her what she does with it.
Welsh laureate Davies, likewise:
I support Sally Rooney in the stand she’s taken and I will donate to her the royalties from my book The Day War Came. Sally is free to do what she chooses with them, including giving them to help the work of Palestine Action.
The move, which puts the sale of their books in the UK in question, is a further challenge to the UK government’s Israel-shielding war on anti-genocide action and protest, begun by Keir Starmer and continued unabated by his successor Andy Burnham.