diff --git a/.release-notes/83.md b/.release-notes/83.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9221738
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.release-notes/83.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+## Handle release already existing when uploading release notes
+
+Previously, the uploading of release notes assumed that the release didn't exist yet. If the release already existed, the release notes upload would fail.
+
+Only working when a release didn't exist made sense for all our ponylang usage. However, for other projects that create assets as part of the build process and store them in GitHub releases rather than Cloudsmith, the release might already exist.
+
+Now, we will check to see if the release exists. If it does, we update it with our release notes. If it doesn't, we will create the release like we previously did.
diff --git a/scripts/publish-release-notes-to-github b/scripts/publish-release-notes-to-github
index b80da9c..754fca8 100644
--- a/scripts/publish-release-notes-to-github
+++ b/scripts/publish-release-notes-to-github
@@ -65,5 +65,12 @@ g = Github(os.environ['RELEASE_TOKEN'])
 repo = g.get_repo(os.environ['GITHUB_REPOSITORY'])
 
 print(INFO + "Uploading release notes..." + ENDC)
-repo.create_git_release(version, version, release_notes)
+# check to see if the release already exists
+ghrelease = repo.get_release(version)
+if ghrelease:
+    print(INFO + "Release already exists. Updating release notes." + ENDC)
+    ghrelease.update_release(name=version, message=release_notes)
+else:
+    print(INFO + "Release does not exist. Creating release notes." + ENDC)
+    repo.create_git_release(version, version, release_notes)
 print(INFO + "Release notes uploaded." + ENDC)