diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index cab0d150..f7137653 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,3 +1,14 @@
+45.alpha
+========
+* window-list: Modernize default styling [Alexander; !253]
+* Replace classic styling with built-in light style [Florian; !254]
+* window-list: Add tooltip for long window titles [Arik; !251]
+* light-style: New extension [Florian; !256]
+* Misc. bug fixes and cleanups [Florian; !255, !257]
+
+Contributors:
+  Florian Müllner, Arik W, Alexander Weichart
+
 44.0
 ====
 * Bump version
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 5dfe35c8..37c3f0fd 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 project('gnome-shell-extensions',
-  version: '44.0',
+  version: '45.alpha',
   meson_version: '>= 0.58.0',
   license: 'GPL2+'
 )