Here at Destructoid, we don't deal in this thing people call "the real world." Politics? Current affairs? Forget 'em. Hell, we even had to hire our own sports correspondent because those games are too close to reality for our brains to deal with.

Which is why when Space Squid and Gamecock announced they were running a Mushroom Men short story contest, we perked up. Fictional stories about mischievous and heroic boletes? Sounds like our kind of party. Today, Gamecock and Space Squid have announced the winners, with the grand prize going to Christopher J. Oatis from Roosevelt, New Jersey for his short story, "The Legend of Shiitake."

Christopher will be receiving a nice prize haul: a Wii, a copy of Mushroom Men: the Spore Wars, and -- here's the big deal, folks -- he'll have his story printed in full right here on Destructoid later today. His story -- along with tales from the contest's five runners up and some click art work -- will appear in an exclusive limited-edition Mushroom Men book available only at the Gamecock boot at this year's PAX.

"The Legend of the Shiitake," a short tale of mushroom danger, intrigue, and action, will be printed in full on Destructoid later in the day. But that story and more can be read over at Space Squid's Web site right now. So ... go!