Biz Blog:

Holiday Flower Fundraiser

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Biz Books is pleased to support The Good Company Collective in their fundraising efforts for their 2010 production of Marsha Norman’s award winning play ‘Night Mother. Featuring Biz Books’ own Bronwen Smith in the role of Jessie along with the venerable Wendy Morrow Donaldson in the role of Thelma this anticipated production will take the stage in October 2010 at Studio 16 (1545 West 7th Ave., Vancouver) under the direction of another member of the Biz family, Carol Hodge.

This Pulitzer Prize winning play is an eloquent, enthralling and ultimately shattering story that explores the final hour in the life of a young woman who has decided that life is no longer worth living.

“…honest, uncompromising, lucid, penetrating, well-written, dramatic, and…un-manipulatively moving…” — NY Magazine


The Good Company Collective with the support of Heathers The Flowershop, have two beautiful holiday flower arrangements for order through Biz Books. These beautiful and affordable flower arrangements are a thing of beauty to share with family and friends this holiday season.

Call, e-mail or visit Biz Books in store or online to place your orders.

You will receive notification within two days of placing your order that your arrangement is available for pick up from our neighbours at Heathers The Flowershop (422 West Cordova Street, Vancouver).


Delivery service is available at an additional cost and arrangements can be made through Heathers The Flowershop directly by calling 604.603.4995.

Posted on December 16, 2009.
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“’Paranormal Activity’ is one of the scariest movies of all time.”

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Bronwen (not pictured in this blog post) will definitely not be seeing this film but if you are not a “scaredy-person” like her – check it out! Audiences and reviewers are loving it:

“an ingenious horror film. It’s so well made it’s truly scary”
~ Roger Ebert of THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

“SO SCARY! Just when you thought it was safe to close your eyes…GOOD LUCK GOING TO SLEEP!”
~ Harry Knowles AIN’T IT COOL NEWS


Okay so this film is definitely scary but signing up for our e-newsletter (or picking up your winnings) shouldn’t frighten you at all! By signing up for our Biz Bulletin, you give yourself the opportunity to win movie passes like Biz customers Eric Morrison (film editor) and Becky Shrimpton (actress) did just the other day.

When Becky stopped by Biz to pick up the pass she won for the film Paranormal Activity, she told us about her latest gig in Fighting Chance Productions’ One Good Marriage by Sean Reycraft. Don’t miss out on the B.C. premiere of this awesome play by one of Vancouver’s most exciting independent theatre companies!


Signing up for our newsletter will not only keep you up to date about our great events, sales and latest products but will give you a chance to win too! To date, we have given away nearly 1000 movie passes, tickets to theatre productions, books, software. Click here to sign up today.

Posted on October 20, 2009.
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Hey Bronwen, John Taylor Went to Tuscany

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A few months ago our good friend (and fabulous actor) John Taylor had the opportunity to make a photographic pilgrimage to Tuscany. Bronwen, ever the supportive friend was most surprised when her overtures to John about being “packed in his luggage” and taken along went unheeded. (Well actually, unheeded isn’t quite right for “heed” John indeed did and took every opportunity prior to leaving to make sure Bronwen would be aware of his departure and destination…but I digress….)

Well, the good news is that John is now back and we all have the chance to see him, his photographs, and celebrate his return at his Open Studio Photographic Exhibition which will take place this weekend on Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd at his studio, 2146 Yew Street in Vancouver. The show takes place on both days from 1 – 6pm but if you decide to attend on the 2nd, be sure to wish John a Happy Birthday as well! And if you see Bronwen, please let her know that John is back from Tuscany!

Posted on July 28, 2009.
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Goin' Green

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So in our never ending quest to keep you updated with pictures of Bronwen (!?) we have a new one to share with you.

Earlier this week writer/director Mark Leiren-Young was in Biz Books thrilled to pick up the Watchmen swag he had won from our recent contest. (What Watchmen swag contest you ask…do you not get our newsletter? ) Anywho…it was during this visit that we were privy to witnessing the reunion of “writer” Mark with one of his stellar actors…our aforementioned Bronwen… as they discussed their collaboration on The Green Film ...not to be confused with “director” Mark’s other current offering…The Green Chain which is currently in theatres. The Green Film — which premiered last year at Crazy 8s in Vancouver — has been selected by the Tribeca Film Festival to participate in the third annual Fly-In Movies Film Competition. Tribeca has partnered with Delta Air Lines to showcase emerging filmmakers online and on select Delta flights. The Green Film was one of only five Short Film Finalists chosen from thousands of entries.

From March 1 through April 12, you can view all five short films for free and vote for your favourite

And while Mark was definitely thrilled with the attention being paid to the film he penned, it seemed that the film he helmed might have been in the forefront of his mind as chatted with us about his recent sharing of thoughts about the film in the Georgia Straight

And if that wasn’t enough to keep this renaissance guy busy…he was also jazzed to share with us that his recently released book Never Shoot a Stampede Queen had just made it (again) onto the top 10 list of The Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia

And then, after we had concluded our wonderful visit and Mark was walking out the door, a customer who had overheard our conversation mentioned that he had attended a recent screening of The Green Chain and proceeded to thank and congratulate Mark for his work. So. Cool.

So yeah…it was the Watchmen swag that made Mark’s day…...it WAS really cool….

Posted on March 13, 2009.
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Dara Marks at Biz Books

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Biz Books was thrilled to partner with FTX West to bring Dara Marks and her weekend workshop, based on her bestseller, Inside Story, to Vancouver this past weekend.

We were also very jazzed to have her drop by the store on Thursday night, for a book signing and a preview of the weekend. In addition to answering many individual questions, Dara (seen here with Bronwen) discussed her approach to using the “transformational arc” in storytelling.

She explained why the arc is so important and why stories that ignore this crucial approach often fail to capture the investment of the audience. Dara also stressed the importance of allowing your characters full access to your own instinctive reactions to the challenges they encounter along their journey. Too often, she said, writers feel a need to “create” characters’ feelings in a given situation, rather than tapping into how they, the writer, would feel in that same situation and it is essential to trust those personal responses as honest, valid and appropriate. Listening to those internal reactions, she went on, will often provide the writer with deeper, more genuine insights into the next development in the character’s arc. A truly “transformational” evening indeed!

Posted on February 2, 2009.
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Rebecca Coleman: Marketing Maven

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Rebecca Coleman, (pictured here with Bronwen) one of our favourite local theatre publicists and arts bloggers, recently stopped in at the store. After a meeting with our own Carrie Ruscheinsky and Melanie Walden, who are producing Christopher Shinn’s Dying City in April at Little Mountain Studios, she dropped by to say “hello” and tell us what she has been working on lately.

“There’s so much great theatre going on in the city this winter and spring,” she said. “I’m really busy, and super excited about the quality of the stuff I’m working on. I see Jay Brazeau was just here—he’s directing Three Viewings at Presentation House, which stars Kevin McNulty (who recently did a show at the Firehall with Cat), Jillian Fargey and Suzanne Ristic. Also, a new company, Zee Zee Theatre, is doing a production of Halifax native Bryden MacDonald’s Whale Riding Weather with Allan Morgan at the PAL from Feb 12-22.”

“There’s lots more—the PuSH Festival, and pieces by Ruby Slippers and Touchstone later in the spring—go see some independent theatre!”

Rebecca’s also really into marketing theatre using online techniques like blogging (check out which groovy bookstore’s blog made it into one of her recent posts) and social media . You can read her most recent marketing ideas here.

Posted on February 2, 2009.
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And the Winner is…

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Well, it is that time of year again, time to reflect on what makes one performance stand out from the crowd. Who deserves to take home a golden statue?

It wasn’t the Academy Screening Room but… on Friday, January 16th our very own Bronwen Smith had the pleasure of attending a monologue competition at Vancouver Film School. She was there along with actor/VFS alumni Dave Myers and actor/comedienne/playwright Jan Derbyshire to judge 22 performances. Monologues from a wide variety of plays and films were performed by the brave acting students who had voluntarily signed up to compete against each other. The decision, though not easy, was finally made…1st place to Laci Mailey, 2nd place to Karston Borst, and 3rd place to Marcus Han. Who knows? Maybe the next thing they win will be an Oscar.

Posted on January 23, 2009.
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Jay makes our day!

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“Guaranteed to please!” That is how director Jay Brazeau (seen here with our own Bronwen Smith) describes his current artistic endeavour of Three Viewings. Now that he is wrapped from his much hailed performance in the Vancouver Playhouse’s smash-hit production of The Drowsy Chaperone he had time to visit us at Biz.

During his visit with us today he shared with us how excited he is to be working on this play at North Vancouver’s Presentation House Theatre, which he described as “the fastest growing little secret in North Vancouver”, with Jillian Fargey, Kevin McNulty and Suzanne Ristic. He applauded the Presentation House’s eagerness to do new and different types of theatre and feels that their approach works well with his personal philosophy that “there should be as many types of live theatres as there are movie theatres”.

Set in a funeral home, Three Viewings (by Jeffrey Hatcher) intertwines three stories of love and loss. There is Emil (McNulty), the mild-mannered mortician who is in love with a local real-estate saleswoman, but can’t bring himself to tell her, Mac (Fargey), a drifter, who is going to her Grandmother’s funeral to get what is rightfully hers, and Virginia (Ristic), who has just lost her husband, Ed, and, she learns, everything else besides.

The show will preview on February 5 at 8 pm and will open on February 6th at 8 pm. It will run Tuesdays through Saturdays until February 21st. Tickets range from $12-24 (which Jay wanted us to remind you is an entertainment bargain especially since there is free parking!) Presentation House Theatre is located at 333 Chesterfield Ave in North Vancouver. Click here for more information.

Posted on January 14, 2009.
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