diff --git a/doc/NEWS.md b/doc/NEWS.md
index 5847612..748ab07 100644
--- a/doc/NEWS.md
+++ b/doc/NEWS.md
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+0.0.20230722-UNRELEASED
+ * cleanup: Rewrote configure.in as per suggestions in newer autoconf manuals
+ * cleanup: replaced header.in with one generated by autoheader, moving custom logic to a separate header file "config-aux.h"
+ * cleanup: added copyright notice to all source files as per GNU standards
+ * cleanup: changed "`--version`" output to conform to GNU standards
+
 1.7.0 - 17 July 2023
  * dropped: support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its derivatives has been dropped; removed the RPM spec file, and will no longer build binaries
  * feature: the "`--size`" option now accepts "`@filename`" to use the size of another file (pull request [#57](https://github.com/a-j-wood/pv/pull/57) supplied by [Dave Beckett](https://github.com/dajobe))
diff --git a/doc/VERSION b/doc/VERSION
index bd8bf88..d6f1970 100644
--- a/doc/VERSION
+++ b/doc/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1.7.0
+0.0.20230722-UNRELEASED