diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 9b192b1f..88a34762 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 name: Release
 
 on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs: {}
+
   pull_request:
     branches:
       - "master"
@@ -15,26 +18,9 @@ jobs:
     outputs:
       version: ${{ steps.checkver.outputs.version }}
     steps:
-    - name: Validate release PR
-      uses: edgedb/action-release/validate-pr@master
-      id: checkver
-      with:
-        github_token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        require_team: Release Managers
-        require_approval: no
-        version_file: edgedb/_version.py
-        version_line_pattern: |
-          __version__\s*=\s*(?:['"])([[:PEP440:]])(?:['"])
-
-    - name: Stop if not approved
-      if: steps.checkver.outputs.approved != 'true'
-      run: |
-        echo ::error::PR is not approved yet.
-        exit 1
-
     - name: Store release version for later use
       env:
-        VERSION: ${{ steps.checkver.outputs.version }}
+        VERSION: 1.9.0
       run: |
         mkdir -p dist/
         echo "${VERSION}" > dist/VERSION
@@ -44,32 +30,6 @@ jobs:
         name: dist
         path: dist/
 
-  build-sdist:
-    needs: validate-release-request
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    env:
-      PIP_DISABLE_PIP_VERSION_CHECK: 1
-
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      with:
-        fetch-depth: 50
-        submodules: true
-
-    - name: Set up Python
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v2
-
-    - name: Build source distribution
-      run: |
-        pip install -U setuptools wheel pip
-        python setup.py sdist
-
-    - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-      with:
-        name: dist
-        path: dist/*.tar.*
-
   build-wheels-matrix:
     needs: validate-release-request
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -80,15 +40,15 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
         with:
           python-version: "3.x"
-      - run: pip install cibuildwheel==2.12.3
+      - run: pip install cibuildwheel==2.19.1
       - id: set-matrix
         # Cannot test on Musl distros yet.
         run: |
           MATRIX_INCLUDE=$(
             {
-              cibuildwheel --print-build-identifiers --platform linux --arch x86_64,aarch64 | grep cp | grep many |  jq -nRc '{"only": inputs, "os": "ubuntu-latest"}' \
-              && cibuildwheel --print-build-identifiers --platform macos --arch x86_64,arm64 | grep cp |  jq -nRc '{"only": inputs, "os": "macos-latest"}' \
-              && cibuildwheel --print-build-identifiers --platform windows --arch AMD64 | grep cp |  jq -nRc '{"only": inputs, "os": "windows-2019"}'
+              cibuildwheel --print-build-identifiers --platform linux --arch x86_64,aarch64 | grep cp | grep many | grep 312 |  jq -nRc '{"only": inputs, "os": "ubuntu-latest"}' \
+              && cibuildwheel --print-build-identifiers --platform macos --arch x86_64,arm64 | grep cp | grep 312 |  jq -nRc '{"only": inputs, "os": "macos-latest"}' \
+              && cibuildwheel --print-build-identifiers --platform windows --arch AMD64 | grep cp | grep 312 |  jq -nRc '{"only": inputs, "os": "windows-2019"}'
             } | jq -sc
           )
           echo "include=$MATRIX_INCLUDE" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
@@ -130,7 +90,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install EdgeDB
       uses: edgedb/setup-edgedb@v1
 
-    - uses: pypa/cibuildwheel@v2.16.5
+    - uses: pypa/cibuildwheel@v2.19.1
       with:
         only: ${{ matrix.only }}
       env:
@@ -154,8 +114,10 @@ jobs:
         path: wheelhouse/*.whl
 
   publish:
-    needs: [build-sdist, build-wheels]
+    needs: [build-wheels]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
 
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v3
@@ -175,26 +137,6 @@ jobs:
         echo ::set-output name=version::$(cat dist/VERSION)
         rm dist/VERSION
 
-    - name: Merge and tag the PR
-      uses: edgedb/action-release/merge@master
-      with:
-        github_token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-        ssh_key: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_BOT_SSH_KEY }}
-        gpg_key: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_BOT_GPG_KEY }}
-        gpg_key_id: "5C468778062D87BF!"
-        tag_name: v${{ steps.relver.outputs.version }}
-
-    - name: Publish Github Release
-      uses: elprans/gh-action-create-release@master
-      env:
-        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-      with:
-        tag_name: v${{ steps.relver.outputs.version }}
-        release_name: v${{ steps.relver.outputs.version }}
-        target: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
-        body: ${{ github.event.pull_request.body }}
-        draft: true
-
     - run: |
         ls -al dist/