diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 93ea0c95..83e6c98a 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-2.9.4
+2.9.4a1
diff --git a/docs/requirements.txt b/docs/requirements.txt
index c528cc8e..a45f0f87 100644
--- a/docs/requirements.txt
+++ b/docs/requirements.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 sphinx==2.2.0 # prevent readthedocs.io to use 1.8.5 which makes pyquickhelper fail
 sphinx_rtd_theme
-gmic==2.9.2
+gmic==2.9.4a1
 Pillow
 numpy
 gmic-sphinx