I’m posting about an exciting literary contest, made possible by author Stephanie Dray. Stephanie’s debut novel Lily of the Nile releases on January 4, 2011, through Berkley Books and unveils the little-known story of Princess Selene, daughter of the famous lovers Queen Cleopatra and Roman general Mark Antony.

As a student of history herself, Stephanie wrote Lily of the Nile to encourage young women to learn from the past and to transcend the expectations of society to create a better tomorrow. To that end, she founded The Cleopatra Literary Contest for Young Women. It is an international writing contest aimed at discovering and mentoring aspiring young female writers.

The contest is divided into two categories for ages 13 through 18 and ages 19 through 22 and asks writers to expand upon the universal themes found within Lily of the Nile by creatively relating them to their own lives.  Categories include poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, and short stories. Contestants have the opportunity to compete for a grand prize in both age groups (choice between a Kindle Reader or a $100 prize) along with a month-long mentorship with Stephanie Dray as well as a personalized critique from NY literary agent, Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Associates.  In addition, every finalist in the contest will receive an Ankh charm—the Egyptian symbol of life.

Additional information about Stephanie Dray and the Cleopatra Literary Contest can be found on Stephanie Dray’s website at http://www.stephaniedray.com/fun/literary-award/.  To help spread the word and make details of the contest available to as many young women as possible, a flier with rules and submission guidelines can be found here: http://www.stephaniedray.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Cleopatra-Contest-Flyer.pdf

The facebook contest page can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cleopatra-Literary-Contest/107644759300921