Professor Moriarty Wins Writer’s Digest’s #ArchVillianMadness

What once started as a group of 16 finalists who battled it out in round after round has landed on one champion.

What once started as a group of 16 finalists who battled it out in round after round has landed on one champion. While the final vote so close (only five votes separated the final two competitors), we have a winner: Professor Moriarty is our undisputed champion, defeating Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort in an epic showdown of historical classic versus modern classic.

Throughout the tournament—between the blog, FB and Twitter—we received thousands of votes. #ArchVillianMadness was a great success! Thanks so much to all who participated, whether that was voting or driving the conversation about all-time great book villains.

And if you want to learn how to write a terrifying bad guy who may one day win our #ArchVillainMadness tournament, check out this great tip-driven article by Peter James:

Brian A. Klems is the former Senior Online Editor of Writer’s Digest, and author of Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl (Adams Media/Simon & Schuster). Follow him on Twitter @BrianKlems.