To brand the first UNCW Summer Writer's conference we wanted something with that good old fashioned hand carved look and with a deep meaning behind it. We writers like to consider ourselves deep. A long brainstorm and a field trip to Fort Fisher led me to creating this linocut of the live oak trees down at the Fort. These trees are shaped by their poison, their challenge, the salt water. That push–pull of the tree growing towards the sea and being bent back by salt and wind reminded me of the difficult and noble process of creative writing. We declared the theme "Creative Persistence." This logo was a collaboration between myself and designer John Crawford.