diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9f8e308bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+One-time setup
+==============
+
+Set up Sonatype Account
+-----------------------
+* Sign up for a Sonatype JIRA account [here](https://issues.sonatype.org)
+* Click *Sign Up* in the login box, follow instructions
+
+Get access to repository
+------------------------
+* Go to [community support](https://issues.sonatype.org/browse/OSSRH)
+* Ask for publish rights by creating an issue similar to [this one](https://issues.sonatype.org/browse/OSSRH-32031)
+  * You must be logged in to create a new issue
+  * Use the *Create* button at the top tab
+
+* Generate the key `gpg --gen-key`
+  * Keep the defaults, but specify a passphrase
+
+* Determine your `gpg` version: `gpg -- version`
+
+* Find the ID of your public key
+  * If you're using GPG version 1.y.z, `gpg --list-secret-keys`
+    * Look for the line with format `sec   2048R/ABCDEFGH 2015-11-17`
+    * The `ABCDEFGH` is the ID for your public key
+  * If you're using GPG version 2.y.z `gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG`
+    * Look for line with format `sec   rsa2048/ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP`
+    * The `ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP` is the ID. It is 16-byte long, but Gradle
+      only support 8-byte keys. Use the *last* 8 bytes of the key when
+      following the rest of this document.
+    * `gpg --export-secret-keys $HOME/.gnupg/secring.gpg`
+
+* Upload your public key to a public server: `gpg --send-keys --keyserver hkp://pgp.mit.edu <YOUR-KEY-ID-HERE>`
+
+Add deploy credential settings
+------------------------
+* Create a settings file at `$HOME/.gradle/gradle.properties` with your key information and your sonatype username/password
+
+```
+signing.keyId=<YOUR-KEY-ID-HERE>
+signing.password=<YOUR-PASSWORD-HERE>
+signing.secretKeyRingFile=/usr/local/google/home/<YOUR-USER-NAME>/.gnupg/secring.gpg
+
+ossrhUsername=<YOUR-NEXUS-USERNAME>
+ossrhPassword=<YOUR-NEXUS-PASSWORD>
+```
+
+To prepare a release
+====================
+
+Update version and deploy to Sonatype
+-------------------------------------
+1. Update `version.txt` to the release version you want
+2. Run `./gradlew stageRelease` to:
+  * Regenerate `gh-pages` branch containing Javadocs
+  * Stage artifacts on Sonatype: to the staging repository if "-SNAPSHOT" is *not* included in the version; otherwise to the snapshot repository only
+3. Submit a pull request, get it reviewed, and submit
+
+Publish the release
+-------------------
+1. Run `./gradlew finalizeRelease`
+  * Note: this will release **ALL** versions that have been staged to Sonatype:
+    if you have staged versions you do not intend to release, remove these first
+    from the [Nexus Repository Manager](https://oss.sonatype.org/) by logging in
+    (upper right) and browsing staging repositories (left panel)
+2. It will take some time (~10 min to ~8 hours) for the package to transition
+3. Publish a new release on Github:
+  * Go to the [releases page](https://github.com/googleapis/api-common-java/releases) and click "Draft a new release"
+    in order to start a new draft.
+  * Make sure the "Tag Version" is `vX.Y.Z` and the "Release Title" is `X.Y.Z`, where `X.Y.Z` is the release
+    version as listed in the `version.txt` files.
+  * Add the commits since the last release into the release draft. Try to group them into sections with related
+    changes. Anything that is a breaking change needs to be marked with `*breaking change*`. Such changes are
+    only allowed for alpha/beta modules and `@BetaApi` features.
+  * Ensure that the format is consistent with previous releases. After adding any missing updates and
+    reformatting as necessary, publish the draft.
+
+Bump development version
+------------------------
+1. Update `version.txt` to the following "-SNAPSHOT" version
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index ed0987288..61fe7b37e 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -319,7 +319,46 @@ task createApiDocsRedirect {
   }
 }
 
-// Regenerates the gh-pages branch under tmp_gh-pages, which must be committed separately
-task updateDocsWithCurrentVersion {
+task publishDocs {
+  dependsOn 'closeAndReleaseRepository'
+  doLast {
+    exec {
+      workingDir './tmp_gh-pages'
+      commandLine 'git', 'add', '.'
+    }
+    exec {
+      workingDir './tmp_gh-pages'
+      commandLine 'git', 'commit', '-m', 'Release docs for ' + project.version
+    }
+    exec {
+      workingDir './tmp_gh-pages'
+      commandLine 'git', 'push'
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+// 1. Regenerates the gh-pages branch under tmp_gh-pages
+// 2. Stages the artifact on Sonatype
+task stageRelease {
   dependsOn 'createApiDocsRedirect'
+  doLast {
+    exec {
+      // We need to spawn a new gradle build process in order to upload appropriately
+      // More details: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31614735/gradle-uploadarchives-artificats-namespace-when-depending-on-a-plugin
+      commandLine './gradlew', 'uploadArchives'
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+// 1. Closes and releases the artifact on Sonatype
+// 2. Commits and pushes the new docs
+// 3. Removes tmp_gh-pages
+// Note: This task assumes that the 'stageRelease' task has been completed.
+task finalizeRelease {
+  dependsOn 'publishDocs'
+  doLast {
+    exec {
+      commandLine 'rm', '-r', 'tmp_gh-pages'
+    }
+  }
 }