diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 699c6c6d4e07f86a8d38c36dd55684a10554df8b..22fc66ca80e53b14d391433da6cebb2d4af2cded 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.1.8
+0.1.9-rc1