diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 18266a03..7411e540 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 Package: varnish
 Title: Front-end for The Carpentries Lesson Template
-Version: 0.3.3.9000
+Version: 0.4.0
 Authors@R: c(
     person(given = "Zhian N.",
            family = "Kamvar",
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 13782b05..cc19108a 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# varnish 0.3.3.9000
+# varnish 0.4.0 (2023-11-29)
 
 * life cycle icons are now displayed as badges for better visibility
 * lessons that are stable with peer-reviewed doi releases will now have a doi