My name is Kevin A. Barry, and I'm a freelance print journalist from West Hollywood, CA. This August 21-24, I will be blogging live from the nation's capital during NLGJA Goes to Washington, the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association's 2008 National Convention & 5th Annual LGBT Media Summit.

As a proud NLGJA member, this will be my second conference and my second conference blog. Last year in San Diego, I chronicled my experience as a conference newbie during the organization's 2007 National Convention.

I hope that you stay tuned as I gear up for year two.

As the largest gathering of LGBT journalists and communicators in the country, NLGJA Goes to Washington will feature over 40 skills-building workshops and hot-topics panels during a weekend focused on the professional development and the intersection of news and LGBT issues. Stay tuned to the official Web site for full multimedia coverage of conference.

Stay tuned as I add photos to my online photo stream throughout the conference. This is your chance to get behind the scenes.