The Empire Laughs Back

About

The Empire Laughs Back publishes humour essays by South Asian writers and the diaspora. Submit your funniest, weirdest, most culturally specific pieces. We promise we’ll get it.

Limited Demographic: Submissions are restricted to writers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, & the global South Asian diaspora.

Country of Publication & Year Established

India

Established in 2025

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Unknown publication frequency

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

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Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Indians (country of India), People with South Asian origins.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 600 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 1,200 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Humorous, Mainstream, Satirical.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Society/Culture: Ethnicity/Race, See guidelines.
Other: See guidelines.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Indians (country of India), People with South Asian origins.

Lengths:

Essay: 600 - 1,200 words.
Narrative Nonfiction: 600 - 1,200 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Humorous, Mainstream, Personal.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Society/Culture: Ethnicity/Race, See guidelines.
Other: See guidelines.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

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The Empire Laughs Back Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

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Accuracy

We have received 1 report within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 21 days.
Most recent response reported was received on 26 May 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 24 May 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 09:46 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 03 Sep 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.