diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..07b976b807
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+## 0.44.4 - 2024-01-29
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+- When given an empty `.tla` file, report a clean user error instead of crashing with an exception (#2821).
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 2c48f63cae..a8b3d5c203 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.44.4-SNAPSHOT
+0.44.4