diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index 2879048..2c4a69a 100644
--- a/Include/patchlevel.h
+++ b/Include/patchlevel.h
@@ -21,13 +21,13 @@
 /* Version parsed out into numeric values */
 /*--start constants--*/
 #define PY_MAJOR_VERSION	2
-#define PY_MINOR_VERSION	6
+#define PY_MINOR_VERSION	7
 #define PY_MICRO_VERSION	0
-#define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_FINAL
+#define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_ALPHA
 #define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	0
 
 /* Version as a string */
-#define PY_VERSION      	"2.6"
+#define PY_VERSION      	"2.7a0"
 /*--end constants--*/
 
 /* Subversion Revision number of this file (not of the repository) */
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 2d1e099..e5d24b2 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -4,6 +4,18 @@
 
 (editors: check NEWS.help for information about editing NEWS using ReST.)
 
+What's New in Python 2.7 alpha 1
+================================
+
+*Release date: XX-XXX-20XX*
+
+Core and Builtins
+-----------------
+
+Library
+-------
+
+
 What's New in Python 2.6 final
 ==============================