PURBECK-based writer Georgie Codd will host her first live night out in Dorset on Friday 13th June. In aid of Dorset Mind, it is based around her second book, Never Had a Dad: Adventures in Fatherlessness, which was published in 2024. The book attracted millions of listeners when it was previewed on the hit US radio show This American Life, and she’s hoping at least 100 of them will go along to the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage for what she describes as “a Father’s Day-themed event – with a difference” (Father’s Day 2025 is on Sunday 15th June)

Georgie will be telling the extraordinary real-life story behind her international search for a father figure. It’s a quest that has caused her and her journalist mother Joanna a deal of emotional and psychological heartache, and choosing Dorset Mind as the beneficiary is no co-incidence. Georgie grew up in Poole with her mother and grandmother, and at the Mowlem she will share what happened when, at the age of 31, she decided to “dadvertise” for a father: placing classified adverts in newspapers and magazines on a weird mission to replace the dad she never had. The resulting book was described by The Times as “a dating quest with a difference” and the BBC World Service as “a tale of fathers, daughters and missing pieces.”

After publishing her carefully crafted advertisements for a father figure in a number of publications, Georgie sat anxiously back to await replies, hoping she had managed to weed out the perverts, weirdos and slave traders who might have been encouraged to respond. She met several interesting people, some of whom are still in touch … and some she hopes never to hear from again.

“This will be my first time hosting a live night out in Dorset about Never Had a Dad, and I’m thrilled to be doing it in aid of Dorset Mind, a charity whose mission to improve the support and understanding of mental health matters is close to my heart” says Georgie. “It will be great to see both new and familiar faces in the crowd – and to hear real-time responses to some of the seriously bizarre twists and turns that my dad-seeking project involved.

“The Mowlem Studio is a fantastic venue and I can’t wait to connect with the audience there.”

Nick Rowe, corporate and major donor fundraiser for Dorset Mind, says: “We’re delighted that Georgie has chosen to support Dorset Mind. Her story is heartrending, gripping, uplifting – and well worth hearing. Every penny raised from ticket donations will go to support the mental health of families and individuals in the county.”

Signed editions of Never Had a Dad will be available to purchase on the night, courtesy of independent local booksellers Gullivers. Ticket donations of £10 per person will go directly to Dorset Mind. Advance booking is strongly recommended as seating is limited.

For tickets and further details, visit themowlem.com/event. Doors open at 7.15pm and the event starts at 7.30pm.

Georgie Codd’s first book, We Swim To The Shark was featured by BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, ABC Melbourne, the i paper, TLS and more. Never Had a Dad will be released in paperback in June.  More at www.georgiecodd.co.uk About Dorset Mind

 

Photographed: Nick Rowe with Georgie Codd and ” The Dad Book”.