diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 3c29bc916750eaf30249cc9b7a4b86af0996e08a..d73749bff4e2179b8b62926f9b6039a4f9db7a97 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 [metadata]
 name = snakehouse
 keywords = cython, extension, multiple, pyx
-version = 1.6
+version = 1.7a1
 long-description = file: README.md
 long-description-content-type = text/markdown; charset=UTF-8
 license_files = LICENSE
diff --git a/snakehouse/__init__.py b/snakehouse/__init__.py
index 70f9ed1c2e9b9e3bf048fe7bce9f43b8e575e788..852f3c3377491848f45fc2a11b09a3975592ac3f 100644
--- a/snakehouse/__init__.py
+++ b/snakehouse/__init__.py
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ from .requirements import read_requirements_txt, find_c, find_pyx_and_c, find_py
 try:
     __version__ = pkg_resources.require('snakehouse')[0].version
 except pkg_resources.DistributionNotFound:
-    __version__ = '1.7'
+    __version__ = '1.7a1'