diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 726186ec..34dc7d4e 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Package: cmdstanr
 Title: R Interface to 'CmdStan'
-Version: 0.8.0.9000
-Date: 2024-05-18
+Version: 0.8.1
+Date: 2024-06-06
 Authors@R:
     c(person(given = "Jonah", family = "Gabry", role = "aut",
              email = "jsg2201@columbia.edu"),
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index aa659b83..1690e282 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,7 +1,23 @@
-# cmdstanr 0.8.0.9000
+# cmdstanr 0.8.1.9000
 
 Items for next release go here
 
+# cmdstanr 0.8.1
+
+## Minor changes
+
+* Added `CMDSTANR_USE_RTOOLS` environment variable to force stock RTools on Windows by @andrjohns in #980
+* Added support for Windows ARM64 by @andrjohns in #990
+* Automatically initialise model methods when called, add `inc_warmup` argument to `$unconstrain_draws()` by @andrjohns in #985
+
+## Bugfixes
+
+* Fix errors when using pathfinder object as initial values by @avehtari in #984
+* Fix error with `$unconstrain_draws()` returning incorrect assumptions in some cases by @andrjohns in #983
+* Fix spurious errors about missing CmdStan config files by @andrjohns in #981
+* Fix linking error when exposing SUNDIALS/KINSOL functions or model methods by @andrjohns in #977
+* Fix long-standing error with OneDrive paths on Windows by @andrjohns in #990
+
 # cmdstanr 0.8.0
 
 ## Major new features