This week, a young viral star gets interviewed about her new book; YA rom-com authors serve on a “love”ly panel; Shamim Sarif’s launch empowers women; and a DC artist showcases mystical illustrations at Comic Con.

Little Luminary

At the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt recently interviewed four-year-old internet sensation Parker Curry and her mother, writer and parenting blogger Jessica Curry, about their jointly written picture book, Parker Looks Up (Simon & Schuster). The book is inspired by last year’s viral photo of a then three-year-old Parker captivated by Amy Sherald’s portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama.

So This Is Love

New York Comic Con’s Not Your Mom’s Rom-Com panel, moderated by blogger Andi Soule, featured five authors speaking on their innovative YA rom-coms: (from l.) Sona Charaipotra (Symptoms of a Heartbreak), Elizabeth Eulberg (Past Perfect Life and The Lonely Hearts Club), Kasie West (Maybe This Time), Miranda Kenneally (Four Days of You and Me), and Sarvenaz Tash (Virtually Yours).

This One’s for the Girls

Film director and novelist Shamim Sarif celebrated her debut YA novel, The Athena Protocol (HarperTeen), at a party held in her honor on October 7 at Hilton Millennium Times Square in Manhattan. Books were for sale courtesy of Books of Wonder, and a portion of the proceeds was donated to Headwaters Relief Organization, a nonprofit that raises global awareness of human trafficking. The Athena Protocol features a secret team of female spies who fight for exploited women. Here, Shamim Sarif (c.) poses with her partner, Hanan Kattan (r.), and Rebecca Thomley, CEO of Headwaters Relief Organization.

Call It Magic

On October 6, artist Yoshi Yoshitani spoke on DC’s Raising Super Readers panel at New York Comic Con. Yoshitani revealed several illustrations from Zatanna and the House of Secrets, a forthcoming fantastical middle grade graphic novel written by Matthew Cody.