++ Dateline: 21 February 2008

...ssSh...*	Here's a sneak peek at #26 ... With a special street art feature including the work of Tom Civil*, Ghostpatrol, HaHa and more ... a fine new design ... limited hardcover editions ... and of course, the best new short fiction, poetry, comic art and spoken word from Australia and beyond ... #26 is shaping up to be our best book yet, and marks a turning point in the strange and thrilling adventure that is Going Down Swinging. Going Down Swinging No.26 will be launched in Melbourne on Tuesday 25th March, 2008, at the Northcote Social Club. So mark that date down in your diary, southern swingers ... those outside Melbourne should keep an eye on your favourite local bookstore, or subscribe now, to get your copy delivered to your very door!

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++ Dateline: 29th October 2007
GDS #25 LAUNCHES
#25 - the Spoken Word edition - is launched, is out there - is in shops, is on the airwaves, is available direct from our Showbag right now ...
It's everything we hoped for and much, much more. It's a landmark. We're all very proud. You can hear a couple of tracks up on our Myspace: www.myspace.com/goingdownswingingmagazine if you want a sample or two.
We swung low, in Melbourne. Then we swung high, in Sydney... or, depending on your point of view, it might have been the other way around. We can't remember. The punch was that good... We would like to thank all these marvellous writers performers MCs and launchers and door sitters and helpers, who gave of their love and time and made our Melbourne and Sydney adventures so worth the price of admission, and how.

GDS #25 MELBOURNE LAUNCH - PHOTOS!

GDS #25 SYDNEY LAUNCH - PHOTOS!

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++ Dateline: 21st August 2007
GDS #25: HOT OFF THE PRESS!
It's been a full year for Swingers, with all kinds of birthings happening. First our bumper 24th text/ comics issue, then Steve Grimwade's bumper crop of baby son mid-year! And now, we're bustin' out all over with pride to announce the arrival of our brand spankin' new and very special SPOKEN WORD ISSUE! Yes, folks, it's 2 CDs of the newest and the best in spoken word from Australia, the UK, the USA, Canada, Denmark, Germany, and beyond ...
Tai Snaith has given us the most gorgeous of visuals with which to wrap up these new aural adventures.
Here's a sneak peek for you:Stay tuned for news on ALL-STAR SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE LAUNCHES and the release of this most eloquent of aural objects into stores near you!

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++ Dateline: 5th January 2007
GDS #24 MELBOURNE LAUNCH
Just in, some photographic evidence from the FAD Gallery launch of Issue #24. In the salubrious surrounds of the top floor in Corrs Lane, our toes squishing into the persian rugs, our fingers maintaining just enough control over our bottles of fine (or otherwise) beer, we were asked to open our eyes, ears, and yes even our wallets to celebrate the new issue. Comic artists were folded over the big table drawing their hearts out, and meanwhile we auctioned off special one-off editions of some of the issue's comic art - happy to say that Mandy Ord's own original drawing of "Intense" will be hanging on FAD's walls after being picked up by the gregarious owner.
Also launched on the night, the MCing talents of David Prater. The buffed shoes and buff shirts of Peter Salmon have finally been filled. And the fit, frankly,well we reckon it's a bit spooky...

Speaking of spooky ... David loses his head (and Steve and Lisa momentarily lose their mojo) during a raffle scuffle...

Luckily, all of it (well, almost all of it) returned in time for the presentation...
Then, Andrew Weldon's launch speech was so good the mannequin's head blew off! Crazy...

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++ Dateline: 8th December 2006
GDS #24 ON THE LAUNCH PAD!
Just in time for that bizarre alien ritual we like to call Christmas, GDS #24 is ready for takeoff. All we need now is you, to help us fire the engines.
The launchpad: The FAD Gallery, 14 Corrs Lane, Chinatown, Melbourne (off Little Bourke, between Russell and Exhibition Sts)
Countdown begins at 7pm.
Equipment required: $5 to get in; $10 to get a book on your way in.
The astronauts: Kris Allison and Jillian Pattinson in close reading orbit,
plus, a specially commissioned performance by the stratospheric Klare Lanson.
The man lighting the fuse: Mr Takeoff himself, Andrew Weldon, will launch the issue!
The music on your journey will be provided by DJ Sean M. "Spacewalk" Whelan.
Your Mission Controller (MC) for the evening will be the freshly crowned 3rd Editor of Going Down Swinging (yes, we welcome new editors in here by hitting them on the head) David "54321" Prater.
Out of the left porthole you will see: a Live Comics Jam (yes, their pens really do write upside down). Out the right porthole: a raffle, a comics auction, and - even better than the earth viewed from space they say - a comics video montage!
So, straighten up and fly right - and we'll see y'all there...
Stay tooned for further launches further afield.

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++ Dateline: 27th August 2006
GDS HEADS TO GEELONG FOR NATIONAL POETRY WEEK
Going Down Swinging in Geelong - where rock 'n' roll and poetry meet
When: 7.30-10pm, Thursday 7 Sept
Where: Limelight Lounge, 155 Moorabool St, Geelong Cost: $5 or $10 with book+CD
Featuring:
Sean Whelan and the mime set - with their poetry/music/video show 'Death to Your Dreams'
Techno-poet and time-based performance artist, Klare Lanson
Famous Poet TT-O
Geelong poet-performers Jess Dunn and Brendan Ryan

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++ Dateline: 16th June 2006
GDS #23 - MELBOURNE LAUNCH DETAILS CONFIRMED!
On Sunday, 25th June, 7pm - 10pm at Yelza, 245 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Barry Dickins will be launching the 23rd edition of Going Down Swinging into the Melbourne literary stratosphere.
Join us, won't you, for a softly swingin', laid-back and languorous Sunday afternoon launch - with performance by Jane Ormond, Silvia Dropulich, David Prater, showbags gifts and trinkets, swooning tunes from The Renovators, all MC'd by Melbourne's true gentleman of leisure, Michael Nolan.
Thank outgoing editor alicia sometimes for her past 7 years of superpoet editorial effort, and step back out into the dusky winter twilight of Futzroy absorbing the heat of your drop-dead gorgeous new edition of Going Down Swinging as it slaps against your hip on your way home!
Romantic, hey?
It will cost you a meager $12 with book included, a trifling $7 without a book. The first 100 through the doors will get a free showbag!

With thanks to our wonderful sponsors at Arts Victoria, the Australia Council, 3RRR, Allen & Unwin, Palace Cinemas, Miranda Brown Publicity, Aztec International, Dendy & Madman Entertainment. Phew, do we feel blessed!
Click on some of our generous friends, below, to return the favour.

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++ Dateline: 29th May 2006
GOING DOWN SWIMMINGLY AT THE SYDNEY WRITER'S FESTIVAL
Pure, unadulterated genius shook hands with Heineken on Saturday 28th May at Sydney Writer's Festival.
The results were, well, just as you might imagine. The Bangarra Mezzanine was packed to the rafters (and we're not joking -the room's roof is so low more than one tall, athletic, literary type knocked the base of their beer bottle on the roof as they drained the contents). Alison Gerber and Adam Gibson broke our hearts with their crush-laden, lovelorn poetry, MC Zoe Zee brought our hearts near to our mouths with her passionate rhymes, and then Paul McDermott ripped out our hearts, threw them on the floor, and jumped up and down on them laughing with maniacal glee, before launching #23 into the literary stratosphere with an energising boot up the arse. God bless 'im.
The beers were flowing (thanks to Tom Keily and his blindingly fast wrist action at the bar), the editions of GDS were racing out the door (luckily in all cases attached to someone who'd just bought one from Lisa), and alicia was rocking the boat in fine form as the MC. Thanks to Sydney Writers' Festival and all who came to this wonderful boozy beer-breathed kiss of life for small press publishing!
And so, GDS#23 is out in the world - a little seasick, a little woozy, sure. But then, that's life on the high seas. Interestingly, the only photographic evidence to come from this night are 4 pictures that look uncannily like relics from an early 80's high school newspaper. Or are those beer goggles on Steve Grimwade's camera lens? These are the ones we can show you...

Paul Mc Dermott & Alison Gerber

Adam Gibson & mc zoe zee wave to history.

+++ Click here for the GDS news archive - ah, yes, the shifting sands, dissipating beer froth, and receeding hairlines of time.....for your amusement and bemusement, previous GDS events, adventures and exploits !