Ditto articles extolling the virtues of some new product on the market. Virtually any topic can make a good Express story if it's handled well. By the same token, any piece can be rejected, no matter how fascinating the idea, if it's poorly executed. The Cityside section is especially freelance friendly. Once again, freelance submission is encouraged.
Special issues are another good entry point for a new writer.
So call a few weeks ahead of time to ask the Arts Editor if the play or musical act you'd like to review has been reserved by someone else. Yes, to make sure we don't have someone else already writing on that same topic. But keep in mind that we accept or reject articles based on the quality of the piece, not the idea. Our arts reviews are rarely more than 1,500 words. Front cover features rarely run less than 4,000 words and can be much longer.