diff --git a/NEWS.rst b/NEWS.rst
index e526218550..8dd42f7382 100644
--- a/NEWS.rst
+++ b/NEWS.rst
@@ -8,6 +8,20 @@ the changes introduced by each of them.
 For a more fine-grained view, use the `git log`_.
 
 
+v8.1.0 (unreleased)
+===================
+
+* **Security**
+
+* **Removed features**
+
+* **New features**
+
+* **Improvements**
+
+* **Bug fixes**
+
+
 v8.0.0 (2022-01-14)
 ===================
 
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 214a3f05eb..27810535e8 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 project(
   'libvirt', 'c',
-  version: '8.0.0',
+  version: '8.1.0',
   license: 'LGPLv2+',
   meson_version: '>= 0.54.0',
   default_options: [