With March Madness arrives an equally important event, Booketology, the Kansas City Public Library’s annual tournament! Last year, books fought to the bitter end. It was genre against genre, literary masterpiece vs. best seller. In the end, To Kill a Mockingbird took the championship. This year, your favorite characters are getting in on the action. Voting is closed, find out the winner here!

We have selected eight genres, and in each, eight literary characters. You decide who wins it all. From Thursday, March 21 through April 8, you can vote for your favorite champion.

You’ll also be entered into a drawing for tickets to the College Basketball Experience as well as copies of our "Elite 8" characters’ books! More information is in The Rules below.

Click the image above for the larger, printable version and play along at home! (choose File>Print Preview to scale the bracket to fit on one page when printing)

Not sure who a character is? Click their names below to find out!

Classics

It’s Captain vs. Captain when Ahab takes on Queeg. Which bitterly disappointed wife will win, when Madame Bovary is pitted against Anna Karenina? The young rebels face off: Huck Finn battles Holden Caulfield! And a heart-wrenching decision must be made when Miss Jane Pittman takes on The Color Purple’s Celie!

Fantasy

Round 1 pits the magician Harry Dresden against the witch Granny Weatherwax! Halfman Tyrion Lannister battles against the leper Thomas Covenant (though both are far more awesome than their titles suggest). Morgaine from Mists of Avalon squares off against The Princess Bride’s Princess Buttercup, and The Last Unicorn fights The Hobbit’s Smaug!

Graphic Novels

It’s an epic match-up! Superman takes on Batman! Rick Grimes puts his zombie-killing skills to the test against The X-Men’s Wolverine! It’s the Lasso of Truth vs. web-shooters when Wonder Woman challenges Spider-Man, and the Endless take on the Minutemen, when Morpheus fights Rorschach!

Mystery

Hard-boiled takes on spunky charm, when Easy Rawlins faces Stephanie Plum! Amoral protagonists on opposite sides of the law clash: Tom Ripley matches wits against Kathleen Mallory! Which veteran detective will win, when Harry Bosch battles Alex Cross? And the two ladies that prove you’re never too old for some sleuthing spar! Jane Marple challenges Emily Pollifax!

Science Fiction

Honor Harrington puts her tactical skills to the test against the Blade Runner himself, Rick Deckard! It’s rock ‘em, sock ‘em robot time when R. Daneel Olivaw takes on HAL 9000! And let’s not forget the teenagers: It’s a game for their very survival when Katniss Everdeen takes on Ender Wiggin! Finally, the kings of late 19th and early 20th century Science Fiction face off, when Phileas Fogg goes up against John Carter!

Romance

Romantic characters square off! Scarlett O’Hara tries to blow away her competition, Amber St. Clare! It’s Glib vs. Glum, when Elizabeth Bennet takes on Jane Eyre! The free spirits try to outdo each other, when Countess Olenska challenges Lady Brett Ashley! And will the Second Mrs. de Winter live up to expectations when she takes on Daisy Buchanan?

Biography

Sometimes an historical figure’s literary presence takes on a life of its own: It’s the battle of the biographies! Royals Queen Victoria and Catherine the Great duke it out! Whose scientific contributions will reign supreme, when Stephen Hawking challenges Marie Curie? Both have struggled for Civil Rights, now they take on each other! Decide who is more eloquent when Martin Luther King, Jr. debates Maya Angelou! And it’s Secretary of State vs. Secretary of State: Madeleine Albright wars with Condoleezza Rice!

Kids Classics

Who says kids can’t get in on the action? Charlotte’s Web Wilbur tries to take a bite out of The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Who will win, when Harry Potter challenges the unrelenting Harriet the Spy to a duel? Will it be a Wonderland for Alice when she takes on the fearless school girl Madeline? And the quirky geniuses compete when Willy Wonka battles Dr. Dolittle!

The Rules:

• The tournament begins Thursday, March 21, with six rounds of online voting to determine the reigning Booketology Literary Character Champion! The champion and drawing winners will be announced on our KC Unbound blog on Tuesday, April 9.
• When each new round begins, the voting form will be available by 12 p.m. that day.
• You can only vote once per round, but anyone can participate!
• Participants who enter their name and email address in the Booketology voting form to be entered in a drawing for one (1) Booketology Grand Prize Pack and four (4) Runner-up Prizes!

  Booketology Grand Prize Pack includes:
  Four gift certificates to the College Basketball Experience! (redeemable for four adult admission tickets), and:
  Copies of our "Elite 8" winning characters’ books! (eight books total)

  The Runner-up participants will each win one book from our "Final 4" winners!

Booketology is part of Building a Community of Readers, a campaign to transform our community by promoting a lifelong love of reading!

About the Author

Liesl Christman is the Digital Content Specialist for The Kansas City Public Library.