The Verband deutscher Schriftstellerinnen und Schriftsteller (Association of German Writers) represents the interests of professional authors and writers in Germany and is part of the service sector trade union ver.di (former Printing and Paper Union). The VS, based in Berlin, was founded on 8 June 1969 with the support of Günter Grass, Heinrich Böll and Martin Walser as a merger of the "Bundesvereinigung der deutschen Schriftstellerverbände"", the "Verband deutscher Übersetzer" and the "Verband deutscher Kritiker" in Cologne.[1] After a membership vote in October 2015, the association changed its original self-designation "Association of German Writers" to "association of German Writers".[2]