diff --git a/Include/patchlevel.h b/Include/patchlevel.h
index b13794521f2..a658e9f5840 100644
--- a/Include/patchlevel.h
+++ b/Include/patchlevel.h
@@ -19,11 +19,11 @@
 #define PY_MAJOR_VERSION	3
 #define PY_MINOR_VERSION	6
 #define PY_MICRO_VERSION	1
-#define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_GAMMA
-#define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	1
+#define PY_RELEASE_LEVEL	PY_RELEASE_LEVEL_FINAL
+#define PY_RELEASE_SERIAL	0
 
 /* Version as a string */
-#define PY_VERSION      	"3.6.1rc1+"
+#define PY_VERSION      	"3.6.1+"
 /*--end constants--*/
 
 /* Version as a single 4-byte hex number, e.g. 0x010502B2 == 1.5.2b2.
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 2e0f00be111..1835d1e389d 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 Python News
 +++++++++++
 
-What's New in Python 3.6.1 final?
-=================================
+What's New in Python 3.6.2 release candidate 1?
+===============================================
 
 *Release date: XXXX-XX-XX*
 
@@ -21,14 +21,6 @@ Core and Builtins
 - bpo-28856: Fix an oversight that %b format for bytes should support objects
   follow the buffer protocol.
 
-- bpo-29723: The ``sys.path[0]`` initialization change for bpo-29139 caused a
-  regression by revealing an inconsistency in how sys.path is initialized when
-  executing ``__main__`` from a zipfile, directory, or other import location.
-  The interpreter now consistently avoids ever adding the import location's
-  parent directory to ``sys.path``, and ensures no other ``sys.path`` entries
-  are inadvertently modified when inserting the import location named on the
-  command line.
-
 - bpo-29714: Fix a regression that bytes format may fail when containing zero
   bytes inside.
 
@@ -60,6 +52,30 @@ Library
   Patch by Petr Motejlek.
 
 
+What's New in Python 3.6.1?
+===========================
+
+*Release date: 2017-03-21*
+
+Core and Builtins
+-----------------
+
+- bpo-29723: The ``sys.path[0]`` initialization change for bpo-29139 caused a
+  regression by revealing an inconsistency in how sys.path is initialized when
+  executing ``__main__`` from a zipfile, directory, or other import location.
+  The interpreter now consistently avoids ever adding the import location's
+  parent directory to ``sys.path``, and ensures no other ``sys.path`` entries
+  are inadvertently modified when inserting the import location named on the
+  command line.
+
+Build
+-----
+
+- bpo-27593: fix format of git information used in sys.version
+
+- Fix incompatible comment in python.h
+
+
 What's New in Python 3.6.1 release candidate 1
 ==============================================
 
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 6b4c2dba306..b0ce13599ad 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-This is Python version 3.6.1 release candidate 1
-================================================
+This is Python version 3.6.1+
+=============================
 
 .. image:: https://travis-ci.org/python/cpython.svg?branch=3.6
    :alt: CPython build status on Travis CI