The Grazer Autorinnen Autorenversammlung (GAV) was founded under the name of Grazer Autorenversammlung in March 1973 and is one of the two major Austrian writers' association (besides the Austrian PEN). H. C. Artmann was its first president. Other writers who contributed to the foundation of the association, were Friedrich Achleitner, Wolfgang Bauer, Georg Bydlinski, Barbara Frischmuth, Peter Handke, Ernst Jandl, Alfred Kolleritsch, Friederike Mayröcker, Reinhard Priessnitz, Peter Rosei, Gerhard Roth, Gerhard Rühm, Michael Scharang, and Oswald Wiener.

In the beginning, the GAV was located in Graz, but in 1975 its secretariat moved to Vienna, which also now became the location for meetings of its executive committee.^[1] Today, the GAV is the largest writers' association in Austria.