diff --git a/ci/release/changelogs/next.md b/ci/release/changelogs/next.md
index af8e00b13..8897c9d24 100644
--- a/ci/release/changelogs/next.md
+++ b/ci/release/changelogs/next.md
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
+Customizations and layouts take a big leap forward with this release! Put together, these improvements make beautiful diagrams like these possible:
+
+![mono](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/3120367/225767298-73b6466c-c245-4df9-b9fd-9e2e4c7910c2.png)
+> [Playground link](https://play.d2lang.com/?script=rJLRasMwDEXf_RX6gYWNvnmwXxkiEampaxlLXVdK_n3IidekHfRlT8GxonvvuUmkZy4HD1cH0FOMoHymMp8BBJViDErS3gDUhB5EudDwOaBiuzBHXePlQcuJ6tXk6kMLJjkGK9DdbYeXj_W1B6E0_ONMdcDJYkPmohhbnlPwcF0i7ekbR05T-8CyQS7ckwjfmCgXHOkBSH-Jwdg-p7Gsv-HuVp4twla4-1XMe04EkUdxk3MnaUUtDjIV4eQAarUe3navbc62Ll1365qPeCDoMcaHqQ2tzjBhb35mwRpu9at62JkU5gBC5evZqiFIjni5m7dgc4og6uZT6ybjSO9_Qp2ca0JbbrbyJuB-AgAA__8%3D&theme=300&sketch=0&layout=elk&)
+
 #### Features 🚀
 
-- New class of special themes, starting with `Terminal`, and `Terminal Grayscale` [#1040](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1040), [#1041](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1041)
-- `style.font: mono` to use a monospaced font for the text/label [#1010](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1010)
-- `border-radius` is supported for both `class` and `sql_table` shapes. [#982](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/982)
-- Implements `style.fill-pattern`. [#1024](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1024), [#1041](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1041)
+- New class of special themes, starting with `Terminal`, and `Terminal Grayscale`. See [docs](https://d2lang.com/tour/themes/#special-themes). [#1040](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1040), [#1041](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1041)
+- `style.font: mono` to use a monospaced font for the text/label. See [docs](https://d2lang.com/tour/style/#font). [#1010](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1010)
+- `border-radius` is supported for both `class` and `sql_table` shapes. Thanks to second-time contributor @donglixiaoche ! [#982](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/982)
+- Implements `style.fill-pattern`. See [docs](https://d2lang.com/tour/style#fill-pattern). [#1024](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1024), [#1041](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1041)
 
 #### Improvements 🧹
 
@@ -20,4 +25,4 @@
 
 - Fixes `d2` erroring on malformed user paths (`fdopendir` error). [util-go#10](https://github.com/terrastruct/util-go/pull/10)
 - Arrowhead labels being set without maps wasn't being picked up. [#1015](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1015)
-- Fixes a dagre layout error with connections to a container shape with a block type label. [#1032](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1032)
+- Fixes a `dagre` layout error with connections to a container shape with a blockstring label. [#1032](https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/pull/1032)