diff --git a/django/__init__.py b/django/__init__.py
index aa515b51e1..de415c02b7 100644
--- a/django/__init__.py
+++ b/django/__init__.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from django.utils.version import get_version
 
-VERSION = (1, 8, 8, 'final', 0)
+VERSION = (1, 8, 9, 'alpha', 0)
 
 __version__ = get_version(VERSION)