diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 599ef3b8d..36d18af05 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
 Changelog
 =========
 
+1.6.1a1 (2024-09-11)
+------------------
+
+Bug fixes
+
+* Fix task owner fallback by @jmaicher in ##1195
+
+
 1.6.0 (2024-08-20)
 --------------------
 
diff --git a/cosmos/__init__.py b/cosmos/__init__.py
index 3422cba62..c5dc5405d 100644
--- a/cosmos/__init__.py
+++ b/cosmos/__init__.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
 Contains dags, task groups, and operators.
 """
-__version__ = "1.6.0"
+__version__ = "1.6.1a1"
 
 
 from cosmos.airflow.dag import DbtDag