diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index e7a2c19..20c03ad 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ jobs:
     outputs:
       tag: ${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}
       due: ${{ steps.tag.outputs.due }}
+      body: ${{ steps.pr.outputs.body }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@fbc6f3992d24b796d5a048ff273f7fcc4a7b6c09 # v5.1.0
         with:
@@ -44,18 +45,22 @@ jobs:
 
       # A version bump that did not come through `vp run bump-version` stops here instead of releasing.
       - name: Verify commit is a merged release PR
+        id: pr
         if: steps.tag.outputs.due == 'true'
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
           TAG: ${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}
         run: |
-          gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/commits/$GITHUB_SHA/pulls" |
-            jq -e --arg tag "$TAG" 'any(.[];
+          pr="$(gh api "repos/$GITHUB_REPOSITORY/commits/$GITHUB_SHA/pulls" |
+            jq -e --arg tag "$TAG" 'first(.[] | select(
               .merged_at != null
               and .head.repo.full_name == .base.repo.full_name
               and .head.ref == "chore/release-\($tag[1:])"
-              and .title == "chore: release \($tag)")' > /dev/null ||
+              and .title == "chore: release \($tag)"))')" ||
             { echo "::error::$GITHUB_SHA is not a merged chore/release-${TAG#v} PR titled \"chore: release $TAG\""; exit 1; }
+          # A random delimiter, so no line of the body can end the output early.
+          delimiter="EOF_$(openssl rand -hex 16)"
+          { echo "body<<$delimiter"; jq -r '.body // ""' <<< "$pr"; echo "$delimiter"; } >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
   release:
     needs: verify
@@ -114,12 +119,14 @@ jobs:
       # checked this commit.
       - run: pnpm publish --provenance --no-git-checks
 
-      # Last: a release pointing at a version npm rejected would be a lie. The notes come from the
-      # PRs merged since the previous tag, grouped by `.github/release.yml`.
+      # Last: a release pointing at a version npm rejected would be a lie. The notes open with the
+      # release PR's body, followed by the PRs merged since the previous tag, grouped by
+      # `.github/release.yml`.
       - name: Create the GitHub release
-        run: gh release create "$TAG" --verify-tag --generate-notes
+        run: gh release create "$TAG" --verify-tag --notes "$BODY" --generate-notes
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+          BODY: ${{ needs.verify.outputs.body }}
 
   # The book is published per tag under `{tag}/`, with `latest/` a copy of the newest release and a
   # bare index at the root. The site lives on `gh-pages`, which GitHub Pages serves as a branch.