From a homeless cat to a misunderstood hen, from a political prisoner to a well-kept plot, from a surreal visit up the Norwegian fjords to a gritty drive down Route 66 -- you've never read a collection of stories like this one! 124 BELOVED contains the Morrison finalists from the 2020 Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition -- a contest that invites aspiring writers to stitch together their own stories using the first and last lines from a classic work of fiction. This year's participants were given the opening and closing lines of Beloved by Toni Morrison. Mystery, poetry, suspense, science fiction, humor, metafiction, horror -- these literary taxidermy stories are as different from one another as the 10 incredible authors who dreamt them up. Come, meet this year's finalists from around the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. We're certain you'll enjoy their incredible work! Learn more about literary taxidermy, as well as future contests, by visiting The Literary Taxidermy Short Story Competition (literarytaxidermy.com).