diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index 2c57a57a0..0d36e8eef 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+Changes in synapse 0.5.4a (2014-12-13)
+======================================
+
+ * Fix bug while generating the error message when a file path specified in
+   the config doesn't exist.
+
 Changes in synapse 0.5.4 (2014-12-03)
 =====================================
 
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 7d8568351..64c6e2f46 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.5.4
+0.5.4a
diff --git a/synapse/__init__.py b/synapse/__init__.py
index 723e15d50..7e49e1fd0 100644
--- a/synapse/__init__.py
+++ b/synapse/__init__.py
@@ -16,4 +16,4 @@
 """ This is a reference implementation of a synapse home server.
 """
 
-__version__ = "0.5.4"
+__version__ = "0.5.4a"