diff --git a/NEWS.rst b/NEWS.rst
index e0d28742..ed1685a8 100644
--- a/NEWS.rst
+++ b/NEWS.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+Version 0.9.6 -- 2024-12-24 -- PyPI__ -- diff__
+ * Markdown: allow lists without leading blank line
+
+__ https://pypi.org/project/nbsphinx/0.9.6/
+__ https://github.com/spatialaudio/nbsphinx/compare/0.9.5...0.9.6
+
 Version 0.9.5 -- 2024-08-13 -- PyPI__ -- diff__
  * Miscellaneous fixes
 
diff --git a/src/nbsphinx/__init__.py b/src/nbsphinx/__init__.py
index 3bd0ed18..b8672ff9 100644
--- a/src/nbsphinx/__init__.py
+++ b/src/nbsphinx/__init__.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 https://nbsphinx.readthedocs.io/
 
 """
-__version__ = '0.9.5'
+__version__ = '0.9.6'
 
 import collections.abc
 import copy