Charleston, SC, June 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Palmetto Publishing has released Power: Blackout, a young adult dystopian thriller by debut author Tyrel Ackman. The novel follows sixteen-year-old Scott Talon and a small band of teenagers as they navigate the collapse of modern society after an electromagnetic event permanently disables the nation’s power grid.
Scott is a high school athlete in Bismarck, North Dakota, when the blackout strikes without warning. Phones go dead. Cars stop running. No emergency services respond. Within days, the city of Williston descends into desperation and violence. Realizing that staying means risking their lives, Scott gathers his younger brother Mathew and a group of friends and leads them westward on foot across hundreds of miles of lawless territory toward an abandoned church campground in the mountains near Helena, Montana.
The journey tests the group at every turn. Supplies dwindle. Wildfires block their path. Desperate survivors pose constant threats. A shadowy nationalist movement emerges from the chaos, adding a new layer of danger. When the group finally reaches the campground, Scott must organize defenses, ration food, and establish sustainable living arrangements. Meanwhile, the truth behind the blackout begins to surface: a scientist in West Virginia launched classified nanotechnology that killed the grid, and the conspiracy behind the act reaches further than anyone suspects. Scott faces impossible choices no teenager should ever confront.
Power: Blackout enters a market with proven appetite for realistic EMP and post-apocalyptic fiction. The novel will appeal to young adult and crossover readers drawn to titles such as One Second After by William R. Forstchen, Lights Out by David Crawford, and The Rule of Three by Eric Walters. What distinguishes Ackman’s debut is its focus on the immediate aftermath of collapse rather than a distant retrospective, grounding the story in real-time survival decisions. Ackman is a high school teacher and collegiate cross country and distance track coach at Williston State College, currently pursuing a master’s degree in athletic leadership and administration at Dickinson State University. As a junior in high school, he played a key role in leading his team to the 2018 North Dakota Class A Boys Cross Country State Championship.
Power: Blackout is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
About the Author: Tyrel Ackman is a dedicated educator and passionate runner based in Williston, North Dakota. He teaches at Williston High School and coaches cross country and distance track at Williston State College. Originally from Wisconsin, Tyrel’s family relocated to North Dakota, where he contributed to the Boys Cross Country team’s Class A State Title victory in 2018. He pursued his education at Williston State College during the COVID-19 pandemic before transferring to Dickinson State University, where he is currently working towards a master’s in athletic leadership and administration. Outside of teaching and coaching, Tyrel enjoys running marathons and half marathons.
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Available for interviews: Author, Tyrel Ackman