Our Hot 20 Under 40 Readers' Choice earlier this year proved to be a tight race, with dozens of local luminaries being nominated from all the coolest corners of city life. Case in point: one of our fiercest contestants, Melissa Hung from Hyphen Magazine and a leader over at WritersCorps, was just given a prestigious national award by Michelle Obama at the White House this past week.

Chosen out of 400 nominations and 50 finalists, WritersCorps was one of 15 after-school and out-of-school programs handed the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. It recognizes WritersCorps' effectiveness in developing creativity and fostering academic success. In addition to the national recognition bestowed by the prestigious award, WritersCorps will also receive $10,000 to support its programming. Nice going Melissa!