A celebration of the 100th birthday of American author Kurt Vonnegut, featuring refreshments, film clips, dramatic readings, prizes and birthday cake, will be held on Friday, Nov. 11, at the WCR Center for the Arts in Reading. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the program will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The event, "Happy Birthday, Mr. Vonnegut," is being sponsored by the Albright College English department, the Reading Public Library, the Village Library of Morgantown and the Wyomissing Public Library. "I love Vonnegut, and I volunteered to be on the committee," said Maria Long, library director at the Village Library. "This is a first-time fundraiser that the libraries are doing together."

James Speese, Ph.D., a lecturer in the English department at Albright College, will serve as master of ceremonies for the event.

A social hour will start off the evening, followed by the program. "Dr. Speese, who did his dissertation on Vonnegut, will talk (about the author), and there will also be some readings from Vonnegut's books," Long explained. "After that, we will have a toast and sing 'Happy Birthday.' The program is an hour, but people can stay behind for some cake and to mingle."

The event will also feature jazz music, a selfie stand and books and merchandise for sale. There will also be a doodle wall in the spirit of Vonnegut's book "Breakfast of Champions," which features the author's little drawings.

Proceeds from the sale of food, beverages and merchandise will benefit the three libraries and future programming at the WCR Center for the Arts. "WCR will sent up concession tables, and there will also be tables for us to promote our libraries," said Long.

Vonnegut was born in Indianapolis, Ind., on Nov. 11, 1922. A prolific writer, Vonnegut published 14 novels, several short-story collections and five plays, among other works.

He left Cornell University, where he was majoring in biochemistry, and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943, where he served as an advance scout during the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured by the Germans and spent time in a prisoner-of-war camp, where he witnessed the firebombing of Dresden in 1945. He re-created that event in his novel "Slaughterhouse-Five," which was published in 1969.

His first novel, "Player Piano," was published in 1952. Other works include "Cat's Cradle" and "Happy Birthday, Wanda June." He died at the age of 84 in New York City in April 2007.

"I like a lot of his short stories," said Long, noting that her favorite Vonnegut work is "Welcome to the Monkey House," which is a collection of 25 short stories. "It's a barrage of his mind at work."

The WCR Center for the Arts, a nonprofit community organization focused on promoting the arts, is located at 140 N. Fifth St., Reading. More information about the venue is available at http://www.wcrcenter.org.