VOLDEMORT VOTED TOP VILLAIN IN THE BIGBADREAD

The results are in and Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter series has come out top. Beating off stiff competition from such dastardly villains as Mrs. Coulter, Dracula and Lex Luthor, Harry Potter’s nemesis has reigned supreme.

Thank you to everybody who took the time to vote. The top twenty villains are listed below and we hope that your favourite made it.

1Lord VoldemortHarry Potter seriesJ.K. Rowling
2SauronThe Lord of the Rings TrilogyJ.R.R. Tolkien
3Mrs CoulterHis Dark Materials SequencePhilip Pullman
4Lex LuthorSuperman Graphic novelsDC Comics
5The JokerBatman Graphic novelsDC Comics
6Count OlafA Series of Unfortunate EventsLemony Snicket
7The Other MotherCoralineNeil Gaiman
8The White WitchThe Lion, The Witch and the WardrobeC.S. Lewis
9DraculaDraculaBram Stoker
10Artemis FowlArtemis FowlEoin Colfer
11MagnetoX-Men ComicsMarvel Comics
12Professor MoriartySherlock HolmesSir Arthur Conan Doyle
13Zaphod BeeblebroxHitchHiker's Guide to the GalaxyDouglas Adams
14Captain HookPeter PanJ.M. Barrie
15Napoleon the PigAnimal FarmGeorge Orwell
16HeathcliffWuthering HeightsEmily Bronte
17Miss TrunchbullMatildaRoald Dahl
18Cruella de Vil101 DalmationsDodie Smith
19The Wicked Witch of the WestThe Wonderful Wizard of OzL. Frank Baum
20The GrinchHow the Grinch Stole ChristmasDr. Seuss

J.K. Rowling was kind enough to give a quote on Voldemort winning: 'I am thrilled and honoured beyond words that Lord Voldemort has been voted best villain in the BigBadRead poll. I am not sure how he would react to knowing that he had won a Muggles' unpopularity poll. A mixture of pleasure that you recognised his power and menace, coupled with fury at your nerve at mentioning his real name, I think. His author, however, is absolutely delighted.'

Mark Walden, author of H.I.V.E. said: 'It's great to see that so many people were keen to vote for their favourite villains, it really shows that baddies in a book still rouse people's interest. What fascinated me was the fact that so many contemporary villains made the top ten. It's refreshing to see that young people are still reading widely but does this mean that contemporary writers are creating better villains? It's a great honour to see that such a much-loved character as Voldemort tops a poll inspired by my book. I imagine that the governers of H.I.V.E. will be planning a statue in his honour as we speak!'

Look out for the BigBadWrite next year where we will be asking young people to create their own villains and write a short story about them.

The BigBadRead is supported by The National Reading Campaign.

The National Reading Campaign aims to ensure that as many people as possible enjoy the pleasures and benefits that reading can bring. It is delivered by the National Literacy Trust on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills. Visit www.readon.org.uk for more information.