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.

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.

Haughton, whose books have sold millions worldwide, said: “I really want to express my full support for Sally 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 .

“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.

“The entire situation is just a farce.…