diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e573c42109..8d550bc29e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+### 1.8.1 (Next)
+
+#### Features
+
+* Your contribution here.
+
+#### Fixes
+
+* Your contribution here.
+
 ### 1.8.0 (2023/08/30)
 
 #### Features
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f4c437be73..b37f12b9f1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -159,8 +159,10 @@ content negotiation, versioning and much more.
 
 ## Stable Release
 
-You're reading the documentation for the stable release of Grape, **1.8.0**.
+You're reading the documentation for the next release of Grape, which should be **1.8.1**.
 Please read [UPGRADING](UPGRADING.md) when upgrading from a previous version.
+The current stable release is [1.8.0](https://github.com/ruby-grape/grape/blob/v1.8.0/README.md).
+
 
 ## Project Resources
 
diff --git a/lib/grape/version.rb b/lib/grape/version.rb
index 64b7c47854..d0632f9dfd 100644
--- a/lib/grape/version.rb
+++ b/lib/grape/version.rb
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
 
 module Grape
   # The current version of Grape.
-  VERSION = '1.8.0'
+  VERSION = '1.8.1'
 end