Association of German Writers

This article is about the association founded in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969. For an association of the same type in the GDR, which existed until its self-dissolution in 1990, see Deutscher Writersverband

Usually with the addition on the right:
ASSOCIATION OF GERMAN WRITERS in ver.di

The Association of German Writers (VS) represents the interests of professional authors and writers in Germany and is part of the ver.di service union (formerly IG Druck und Papier ). VS, based in Berlin, was founded on June 8, 1969 with the support of Günter Grass , Heinrich Böll and Martin Walser as an amalgamation of the Federal Association of German Writers' Associations , the Association of German Translators and the Association of German Critics in Cologne . After a membership decision in October 2015, the association changed the original self-designation "Association of German Writers" to "Association of German Writers".

organization structure

With 3600 members it is the largest federal association for authors and translators in Germany. It is divided into 15 regional associations (Lower Saxony and Bremen form a joint regional association) and the international group . The otherwise independent association of German-language translators of literary and scientific works , VdÜ, as a section of translators, is on an equal footing with a regional association with its own board of directors and its own representation on the federal board .

All full-time and part-time German-speaking authors, translators and all foreign-language writers living in the Federal Republic of Germany can become members. Members of the independent federal section “Translators” can also include persons who translate “from German or into German” regardless of their place of residence; a status as a candidate is also possible.

(Union) services

Among other things, the VS negotiates standard contracts with the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels - most recently on January 23, 2014 a. a. with regulations on e-book rights, gives recommendations on fee agreements with publishers and offers its members additional services such as free legal advice and legal protection through representation by the association. The association is also one of the main initiator associations of the action alliance for fair publishers (Ak Fairlag).

In addition to its trade union duties, the VS acts primarily at the district level, but also at the regular state group meetings, as an organizer of literary events. In addition, VS is involved nationwide with projects on literature and politics, also in cooperation with other institutions such as B. Amnesty International . The most recent project was started by the Federal Executive Committee in 2012. Under the motto “WORDS against RIGHT”, the VS is strengthening its nationwide activities against racism and Nazis with readings, poster campaigns and other events.

Federal Chairwoman of the VS

• Dieter Lattmann (1969–1974)
• Horst Bingel (1974–1976)
• Carl Amery (1976–1977)
• Bernt Engelmann (1977–1983)
• Hans Peter Bleuel (1984–1987)
• Anna Jonas (1987–1988)
  • 1988/89 vacant (provisional board member)
• Uwe Friesel (1989–1994)
• Erich Loest (1994–1997)
• Fred Breinersdorfer (1997-2005)
• Imre Török (2005-2015)
• Eva Leipprand (2015-2019)
• Lena Falkenhagen (since February 16, 2019)

Web links

Commons : Association of German Writers  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• official homepage
• Homepage of the VdÜ
• 50 years VS. A journey through time , by Dirk von Kügelgen, Helga Pfetsch VdÜ , Josef Winiger VdÜ, 2019

Individual evidence

1. ↑ vs.verdi.de Association's own information: "On the history of the VS"; A PDF file (1.0 MB) on 40 years of the Association of German Writers 1969 - 2009 is also available here
2. ↑ Until the renaming by membership decision in October 2015: "Association of German Writers" (cf. message from the VS with a new name on vs.verdi.de)
3. ↑ vs.verdi.de Association's own information on "VS regional associations"
4. ↑ vs.verdi.de Association's own information on: " Become a member of VS"
5. ^ Statutes of the VdÜ ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , § 5 
6. ↑ VS press release: Commitment and flexibility - Modern standard contract for publishers and authors adopted , online as a PDF file from January 23, 2014
7. ↑ verdi.de On VS projects
8. ↑ On the election of Hans Peter Bleuel see also Peter Schütt : Dumm und Gutbellaubig. About the influence of GDR cultural policy on West German authors in Der Spiegel of February 10, 1992
9. ^ BuchMarkt Verlag K. Werner GmbH: Lena Falkenhagen is the new VS chairwoman. In: BuchMarkt. February 16, 2019, accessed on February 17, 2019 (German).