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Over at Prospect I have done a piece on the withdrawal of Sally Rooney’s books from the United Kingdom market by her publisher Faber.
Please click and read it here. The article has been widely shared and picked up, by example, by The Observer.
The essence of my article is that the withdrawal is not based on a fanciful interpretation of the applicable terrorism law by a best-selling author and her august publishing house. Indeed, from Faber’s perspective it is an understandable way of addressing a non-trivial risk of criminal liability. As such it cannot be dismissed as mere publicity stunt.
It also looks like it was a Faber-led, commercially-legally driven decision, rather than a Rooney-led exercise.
This post now unpacks the matter further, from the point of view of a practical commercial and media lawyer.
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There are a couple of things interesting about the respective statements of Rooney and Faber.
The first is that there were two separate statements, saying slightly different things, rather than one agreed statement. The second is that Faber has adopted any position at all, let alone published it, given its own commercial and legal interests.
That there are two separate statements indicates - though it does not prove - that Rooney and Faber have two distinct positions.
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Let’s now unpack the statements with a close reading…