diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index a77e469..8b8880e 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.3)
 set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake")
 include(VersioningUtils)
 
-SET_PROJECT_VERSION(1 8 0)
+SET_PROJECT_VERSION(1 8 1)
 set(WPEBACKEND_FDO_API_VERSION 1.0)
 
 # Before making a release, the LT_VERSION string should be modified.
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ set(WPEBACKEND_FDO_API_VERSION 1.0)
 # - If binary compatibility has been broken (eg removed or changed interfaces)
 #   change to C+1:0:0
 # - If the interface is the same as the previous version, change to C:R+1:A
-CALCULATE_LIBRARY_VERSIONS_FROM_LIBTOOL_TRIPLE(LIBWPEBACKEND_FDO 7 3 6)
+CALCULATE_LIBRARY_VERSIONS_FROM_LIBTOOL_TRIPLE(LIBWPEBACKEND_FDO 7 4 6)
 
 project(wpebackend-fdo VERSION "${PROJECT_VERSION}")
 
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index a6309c9..310629e 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+======================
+1.8.1 - March 10, 2021
+======================
+
+- Fixed invalid usage of Wayland client connections in the nested compositor
+  which caused sporadic crashes in certain conditions.
+- Fixed a file descriptor leak on view backend initialization.
+- Fixed a small memory leak when releasing exportable view backends.
+
 ==========================
 1.8.0 - September 11, 2020
 ==========================
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 46ef6b0..483f913 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ project('WPEBackend-fdo', ['c', 'cpp'],
 		'cpp_std=c++11',
 	],
 	license: 'BSD-2-Clause',
-	version: '1.8.0',
+	version: '1.8.1',
 )
 
 # This refers to the API level provided. This is modified only with major,
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ api_version = '1.0'
 # - If binary compatibility has been broken (eg removed or changed interfaces)
 #   change to [C+1, 0, 0]
 # - If the interface is the same as the previous version, use [C, R+1, A].
-soversion = [7, 3, 6]
+soversion = [7, 4, 6]
 
 # Split the *project* version into its components.
 version_info = meson.project_version().split('.')