After weeks of criticism, including the withdrawal of approximately one third of nominated writers, PEN America announced on Monday that it will cancel this year’s Literary Awards ceremony. “We greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not,” PEN America literary programming chief officer Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf said in a release. “We regret that this unprecedented situation has taken away the spotlight from the extraordinary work selected by esteemed, insightful and hard-working judges across all categories. As an organization dedicated to freedom of expression and writers, our commitment …