diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 0ddf3410..a22248bd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -82,18 +82,24 @@ jobs:
           name: dist
           path: dist/
 
-      - name: Extract release notes from CHANGELOG.rst
+      - name: Prepare release notes
         env:
           TAG: ${{ github.ref_name }}
         shell: python
         run: |
           import re, pathlib, os
-          tag  = os.environ["TAG"]
-          text = pathlib.Path("CHANGELOG.rst").read_text()
-          parts = re.split(r"(?m)(?=^\S[^\n]*\n=+\n)", text)
-          notes = next((p.strip() for p in parts if p.strip().startswith(tag)), None)
-          fallback = "Release " + tag + "\n" + "=" * (len(tag) + 8) + "\n\nSee CHANGELOG.rst."
-          pathlib.Path("release_notes.rst").write_text(notes if notes else fallback)
+          tag = os.environ["TAG"]
+          # Prefer the curated RELEASE_NOTES.md; fall back to the matching
+          # CHANGELOG.rst section, then to a generic stub.
+          curated = pathlib.Path("RELEASE_NOTES.md")
+          if curated.exists():
+              notes = curated.read_text()
+          else:
+              text = pathlib.Path("CHANGELOG.rst").read_text()
+              parts = re.split(r"(?m)(?=^\S[^\n]*\n=+\n)", text)
+              section = next((p.strip() for p in parts if p.strip().startswith(tag)), None)
+              notes = section or ("Release " + tag + "\n\nSee CHANGELOG.rst.")
+          pathlib.Path("release_notes.md").write_text(notes)
 
       - name: Create GitHub Release
         env:
@@ -104,6 +110,6 @@ jobs:
           if [[ "$TAG" == *b* ]]; then PRERELEASE_FLAG="--prerelease"; fi
           gh release create "$TAG" \
             --title "$TAG" \
-            --notes-file release_notes.rst \
+            --notes-file release_notes.md \
             $PRERELEASE_FLAG \
             dist/*
diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES.md b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..925b491a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+# anyplotlib 0.1.0 — first public release
+
+**anyplotlib** is a plotting library built on Python, JavaScript, and
+[anywidget](https://anywidget.dev/) for fast, interactive, in-browser plotting
+— in Jupyter, in the docs, and (new in this release) embedded in standalone apps.
+
+This first release ships the full core: `Figure`, `Axes`, `GridSpec` /
+`subplots`, the `Plot1D` / `Plot2D` / `PlotMesh` / `Plot3D` / `PlotBar` /
+`PlotXY` plot types, a marker system, interactive overlay widgets, and a
+two-tier callback registry.
+
+## Install
+
+```bash
+pip install anyplotlib
+```
+
+Requires Python ≥ 3.10. Optional extras: `anyplotlib[jupyter]`, `anyplotlib[docs]`.
+
+## Highlights
+
+### New plotting surfaces
+- **`PlotXY` / `Axes.axes2d`** — a blank data-coordinate 2-D axis (matplotlib
+  `transData` + `PathCollection` model). Draw `scatter` / `plot` / `fill` /
+  `text` in data coords with per-point face/edge colours and `aspect="equal"`
+  — the surface for stereographic / IPF / pole-figure plots (e.g. an `orix`
+  backend).
+- **Fast density heatmaps** — `PlotXY.pcolormesh` rasterizes regular meshes into
+  a single blit whose cost is independent of cell count (a 256×256 heatmap draws
+  as fast as 32×32). The underlying `add_raster` primitive draws an RGBA image
+  between data-coord corners, with an optional `clip_path` polygon and a
+  `smooth=True` bilinear option.
+- **`InsetAxes`** — floating overlay sub-plots above the main grid (`add_inset`),
+  supporting every plot type plus interactive minimise / maximise / restore.
+- **True-colour `imshow`** — `(H, W, 3|4)` arrays now render as RGB(A) instead of
+  silently dropping channels.
+
+### 3-D and GPU
+- **`Axes.voxels()`** — volumes as shaded translucent cubes, with a draggable
+  `PlaneWidget` slice selector that fires `pointer_move` / `pointer_up`
+  callbacks; voxels on the slice plane glow.
+- **WebGPU acceleration** — `scatter3d` and `voxels` render on the GPU via WebGPU
+  when available (`gpu="auto"`), with a transparent, identical-looking Canvas2D
+  fallback when no GPU is present. Query the active path with `plot.gpu_active`.
+- **Richer 3-D scatter** — per-point `colors=`, a `bounds=` override, single-point
+  `set_highlight()`, a shaded reference `set_sphere()`, and a proper turntable
+  camera (matplotlib `azim` / `elev` semantics).
+
+### Interactivity
+- **Touch support** — one-finger pan / orbit / drag, two-finger pinch zoom, and
+  double-tap, on iPad / iPhone / trackpads, with no API change.
+- **Data-coordinate picking** — `double_click` on 1-D / `PlotXY` panels now
+  reports `ydata` alongside `xdata`.
+- **Typography** — `fontsize` on labels/titles/colorbars, `set_tick_label_size()`,
+  and a mini-TeX subset inside `$...$` (super/subscripts, Greek, `\times`, `\AA`,
+  `\degree`) rendered natively on the canvas; text is no longer clipped.
+
+### Performance
+- **Geometry sync channel** — large, slow-changing buffers are deduped by content
+  hash, so view-only updates (highlight, view, zoom, widget drags) no longer
+  re-transmit geometry.
+- **`Figure.batch()`** — coalesces panel pushes so linked-view handlers send one
+  update per changed panel instead of one per mutation.
+- **Voxels ~2–3× faster** via sprite caching and cached projection/depth-sort.
+- **~50× faster Pyodide dispatch** — interactions call a pre-compiled dispatcher
+  instead of recompiling Python source every frame, so the interactive docs keep
+  up with gestures.
+
+### Embedding outside Jupyter
+- `fig.save_html()` / `fig.to_html()` export a self-contained interactive page.
+- `figure_esm.js` exports a `mount(el, state, opts)` entry point for direct JS
+  embedding (Electron, MDI windows, plain web pages) with `onEvent` callbacks,
+  live `setPanelState`, `resize`, and `dispose`.
+- The new `anyplotlib.embed` module provides `figure_state()`, `esm_path()`, and a
+  transport-agnostic `FigureBridge` for two-way Python ↔ JS sync over any pipe.
+
+### Documentation tooling
+- The `anyplotlib.sphinx_anywidget` extension renders live, Pyodide-powered
+  figures in the docs (`.. anywidget-figure::` directive, automatic wheel
+  building, Sphinx Gallery integration).
+
+## Bug fixes
+- 3-D plane-widget drags no longer snap back (view-only pushes stop clobbering an
+  in-progress drag).
+- GPU 3-D panels self-heal when a WebGPU device is lost mid-draw (no more vanishing
+  voxels/axes until a window resize) — seen on Safari's experimental WebGPU.
+- Large voxel volumes no longer render "empty" in WebGPU browsers (e.g. PyCharm's
+  JCEF) — the plot canvas background is now transparent while the GPU path is active.
+- The 3-D voxel highlight no longer floats onto random voxels in large volumes.
+- Interactive (⚡) docs figures are much smoother under Pyodide (the ~50× dispatch
+  speedup above).
+
+## Full changelog
+See [`CHANGELOG.rst`](./CHANGELOG.rst) for the complete, detailed list.