diff --git a/.github/release.yml b/.github/release.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d21027
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+changelog:
+    exclude:
+        authors:
+            - pre-commit-ci
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-to-pypi.yml b/.github/workflows/build-and-release.yaml
similarity index 50%
rename from .github/workflows/publish-to-pypi.yml
rename to .github/workflows/build-and-release.yaml
index 8418d96..aaec2c0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-to-pypi.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-and-release.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: Publish Python distributions to PyPI
+name: Create new release
 
 on:
   push:
@@ -6,15 +6,15 @@ on:
       - 'v*' # Push events to matching v*, i.e. v1.0, v20.15.10
 
 jobs:
-  build-and-publish:
-    name: Build and Publish
+  build_and_publish:
+    name: Build and Publish to PyPI
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-    - name: Set up Python 3.9
+    - name: Set up Python 3.10
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: 3.9
+        python-version: '3.10'
     - name: Install pypa/build
       run: >-
           python -m
@@ -28,12 +28,24 @@ jobs:
           --sdist
           --outdir dist/
           .
-#   - name: Publish distribution to Test PyPI
-#     uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@master
-#     with:
-#       password: ${{ secrets.TEST_PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
-#       repository_url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
     - name: Publish distribution to PyPI
       uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
       with:
         password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_API_TOKEN }}
+
+  create_gh_release:
+    name: Create Github release
+    needs: [build_and_publish]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1
+        # https://github.com/ncipollo/release-action
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          draft: true
+          tag: ${{ github.ref }}
+          prerelease: false
+          name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-build.yaml b/.github/workflows/check-build.yaml
index 8ac7803..fd6bae0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-build.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-build.yaml
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@master
-    - name: Set up Python 3.9
+    - name: Set up Python 3.10
       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
       with:
-        python-version: 3.9
+        python-version: '3.10'
     - name: Install check-build dependencies
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml b/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 424d5f0..0000000
--- a/.github/workflows/create-release.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-# https://github.com/actions/create-release
-on:
-  push:
-    # Sequence of patterns matched against refs/tags
-    tags:
-      - 'v*' # Push events to matching v*, i.e. v1.0, v20.15.10
-
-name: Create Release
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-    name: Create Release
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Create Release
-        id: create_release
-        uses: actions/create-release@v1
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} # This token is provided by Actions, you do not need to create your own token
-        with:
-          tag_name: ${{ github.ref }}
-          release_name: Release ${{ github.ref }}
-          body: |
-            Changes in this Release
-            - First Change
-            - Second Change
-          draft: true
-          prerelease: false
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index e9eaf25..5599070 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ If you are proposing a feature:
 
 Ready to contribute? Here's how to set up `yt_idv` for local development.
 
+### Development environment setup
+
+To set up your local development environment:
+
 1. Fork the `yt_idv` repo on GitHub.
 
 2. Clone your fork locally
@@ -61,29 +65,30 @@ Ready to contribute? Here's how to set up `yt_idv` for local development.
    ```
    $ mkvirtualenv yt_idv
    $ cd yt_idv/
-   $ python setup.py develop
+   $ python -m pip install -e .[dev]
    ```
 
-4. Create a branch for local development
+4. (optional) Initialize pre-commit if you want to catch linting errors throughout development. When you submit a pull request, the pre-commit.ci bot will run a number of checks so it can be easier to catch errors along the way.
 
    ```
-   $ git checkout -b name-of-your-bugfix-or-feature
+   $ pre-commit install
    ```
 
-   Now you can make your changes locally.
+### Developing
+
+Once your environment is setup, you are ready to make changes!
 
-5. When you're done making changes, check that your changes pass flake8 and the
-   tests, including testing other Python versions with tox
+1. Create a branch for local development
 
    ```
-   $ flake8 yt_idv tests
-   $ python setup.py test or pytest
-   $ tox
+   $ git checkout -b name-of-your-bugfix-or-feature
    ```
 
-   To get flake8 and tox, just pip install them into your virtualenv.
+   Now you can make your changes locally.
+
+2. When you're done making changes,
 
-6. Commit your changes and push your branch to GitHub
+3. Commit your changes and push your branch to GitHub
 
    ```
    $ git add .
@@ -91,7 +96,16 @@ Ready to contribute? Here's how to set up `yt_idv` for local development.
    $ git push origin name-of-your-bugfix-or-feature
    ```
 
-7. Submit a pull request through the GitHub website.
+4. Submit a pull request through the GitHub website.
+
+### Running and writing tests
+
+The test suite is run with `pytest` using headless `osmesa` tests, so you need
+an environment with `osmesa` available. To run the tests:
+
+    ```
+    $ pytest yt_idv
+    ```
 
 ## Pull Request Guidelines
 
@@ -113,23 +127,47 @@ To run a subset of tests
 $ pytest tests.test_yt_idv
 ```
 
+## Releasing
+
+To create a release, follow these steps:
+
+1. [prep for release](#prep-for-release)
+2. [create and push a new version tag](#create-and-push-a-new-version-tag)
+3. [cleanup from release](#cleanup-from-release)
 
-## Deploying
+### prep for release
 
-A reminder for the maintainers on how to deploy.
-Make sure all your changes are committed (including an entry in HISTORY.md).
-Then run
+First make sure the version specified in `setup.cfg` and `yt_idv/__init__.py`
+match the upcoming release and that there is an entry in `HISTORY.md`. Push up
+any updates to the version or history and then move on to the next step.
 
+Next, double check that your local main branch matches https://github.com/yt-project/yt_idv/:
+
+```shell
+git fetch --all
+git checkout main
+git rebase upstream/main
 ```
-$ bump2version patch # possible: major / minor / patch
-$ git push
-$ git push --tags
+
+### create and push a new version tag
+
+Now create and push a new version tag. For example, for version 1.2.3:
+
+```shell
+git tag v1.2.3
+git push upstream v1.2.3
 ```
 
-Travis will then deploy to PyPI if tests pass.
+When a new tag is pushed, a GitHub action is triggered that will:
 
-## Releasing
+1. build a new source release and push up to PyPI
+2. create a draft release on GitHub with auto-generated release notes
+
+After the action runs, go open up the draft release (which should be visible on the
+[releases page](https://github.com/yt-project/yt_idv/releases)), edit the notes to
+match the release notes in `HISTORY.md` for this version.
+
+### cleanup from release
 
-When a new tag is pushed, a new source release will be pushed up to PyPI.  You
-don't need to do much else besides that -- the github action should take care
-of it!
+While not strictly necessary, it helps to bump the active development version
+in `setup.cfg` and `yt_idv/__init__.py` and add a blank entry in `HISTORY.md`.