diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e696edc3..8db4901c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,20 @@
 All significant changes to this repo will be summarized in this file.
 
 
+## [v1.8.1](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/tree/v1.8.1) (2019-03-13)
+[Full Changelog](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/compare/v1.8.0...v1.8.1)
+
+**Fixed bugs:**
+
+- \(maint\) Fixes sensitive transport values where absent keys are wrapped [\#161](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/161) ([da-ar](https://github.com/da-ar))
+
+**Merged pull requests:**
+
+- 1.6.x mergeup [\#162](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/162) ([DavidS](https://github.com/DavidS))
+- \(FM-7829\) Update README with transports examples [\#160](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/160) ([willmeek](https://github.com/willmeek))
+- \(maint\) update release docs [\#159](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/159) ([DavidS](https://github.com/DavidS))
+- Improve travis cells and testing [\#145](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/145) ([DavidS](https://github.com/DavidS))
+
 ## [v1.8.0](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/tree/v1.8.0) (2019-02-26)
 [Full Changelog](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/compare/v1.7.0...v1.8.0)
 
@@ -22,6 +36,7 @@ All significant changes to this repo will be summarized in this file.
 
 **Merged pull requests:**
 
+- Release prep for v1.8.0 [\#158](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/158) ([DavidS](https://github.com/DavidS))
 - \(FM-7726\) cleanups for the transport  [\#153](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/153) ([DavidS](https://github.com/DavidS))
 - \(FM-7691,FM-7696\) refactoring definition handling in contexts [\#150](https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api/pull/150) ([DavidS](https://github.com/DavidS))
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f2c8329a..4f3ca1c1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -344,6 +344,24 @@ Future possibilities:
 
 Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet-resource_api.
 
-## Cutting a release
-
-To cut a new release, follow the ["Special case: the resource API" instructions](https://confluence.puppetlabs.com/display/systemsEngineering/Puppet+Agent+Release+Lead+Guide) on confluence.
+### Cutting a release
+
+In some cases we need to manually cut a release outside of the regular puppet
+agent process.
+
+To do so, follow these instructions from a current `master` checkout:
+
+* Start the release branch with `git checkout -b release-prep`
+* Update `lib/puppet/resource_api/version.rb` to the new version
+* Update the CHANGELOG
+  * Have a [CHANGELOG_GITHUB_TOKEN](https://github.com/skywinder/github-changelog-generator#github-token) set in your environment
+  * run `rake changelog`
+  * double check the PRs to make sure they're all tagged correctly (using the new CHANGELOG for cross-checking)
+* Check README and other materials for up-to-date-ness
+* Commit changes with title "Release prep for v\<VERSION>"
+* Upload and PR the release-prep branch to the puppetlabs GitHub repo
+* Check that CI is green and merge the PR
+* Run `rake release[upstream]` to release from your checkout
+  * make sure to use the name of your git remote pointing to the puppetlabs GitHub repo
+* Remove the release-prep branch
+* Send the release announcements using the template in [misc/ANNOUNCEMENT_TEMPLATE.md](misc/ANNOUNCEMENT_TEMPLATE.md)
diff --git a/lib/puppet/resource_api/version.rb b/lib/puppet/resource_api/version.rb
index 3b249858..75d72743 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/resource_api/version.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/resource_api/version.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 module Puppet
   module ResourceApi
-    VERSION = '1.8.0'.freeze
+    VERSION = '1.8.1'.freeze
   end
 end