diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 60617434..f9d86434 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ on:
         description: 'Next development version override (optional, must end with -SNAPSHOT)'
         required: false
         type: string
+      changelogEntry:
+        description: 'Changelog entry (Markdown bullets, e.g. "- Fix X"). Prepended to the module RELEASE.CHANGELOG.md in the version-bump PR and used as the GitHub Release notes. Required.'
+        required: true
+        type: string
       skip_publish:
         description: 'Skip publish (dry-run validation)'
         required: false
@@ -48,6 +52,7 @@ env:
   MODULE: ${{ github.event.inputs.module }}
   RELEASE_VERSION_INPUT: ${{ github.event.inputs.releaseVersion }}
   DEVELOPMENT_VERSION_INPUT: ${{ github.event.inputs.developmentVersion }}
+  CHANGELOG_ENTRY_INPUT: ${{ github.event.inputs.changelogEntry }}
   # Batch mode + no transfer-progress spam for every Maven call (Maven 3.9+).
   MAVEN_ARGS: "-B --no-transfer-progress"
   AWS_REGION: ${{ vars.AWS_REGION_MAVEN_RELEASE }}
@@ -162,9 +167,9 @@ jobs:
 
       # Cross-module gate: serialization has no tests in its own build, so the
       # `mvn verify` above exercises nothing. Its behavioral coverage lives in
-      # aws-lambda-java-tests, which depends on serialization via a version
-      # property. Install the just-built serialization and run that suite
-      # against it, so we never publish serialization the suite hasn't exercised.
+      # aws-lambda-java-tests, which depends on it via the parent version map.
+      # Install the just-built serialization and run that suite against it, so
+      # we never publish serialization the suite hasn't exercised.
       - name: Run cross-module test gate
         run: |
           case "$MODULE" in
@@ -174,8 +179,10 @@ jobs:
               echo "::group::Installing $MODULE $MOD_VER for the gate"
               mvn install -DskipTests --file "$MODULE/pom.xml"
               echo "::endgroup::"
-              echo "::notice::Gating $MODULE on aws-lambda-java-tests (aws-lambda-java-serialization.version=$MOD_VER)"
-              mvn verify -Daws-lambda-java-serialization.version="$MOD_VER" --file aws-lambda-java-tests/pom.xml
+              echo "::notice::Gating $MODULE on aws-lambda-java-tests (lambda.serialization.version=$MOD_VER)"
+              # Override the map property so the suite runs against the
+              # just-built serialization, not the version pinned in the map.
+              mvn verify -Dlambda.serialization.version="$MOD_VER" --file aws-lambda-java-tests/pom.xml
               ;;
             *)
               echo "::notice::No cross-module test gate for $MODULE"
@@ -252,6 +259,62 @@ jobs:
             -Darguments="-gs $MAVEN_SETTINGS -Prelease -Dgpg.keyname=$GPG_KEYNAME -Dgpg.passphrase=$GPG_PASSPHRASE" \
             --file "$MODULE/pom.xml"
 
+      # Record the published version in the two places that track it, from the
+      # same EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION in one commit so they can't drift:
+      # (1) the module's lastPublished comment (informational, every module) and
+      # (2) the parent version map (functional, only for modules others depend
+      # on). Rides in the version-bump PR below (main is protected).
+      - name: Record released version (POM lastPublished + parent version map)
+        if: ${{ github.event.inputs.skip_publish != 'true' }}
+        run: |
+          # (1) Module's lastPublished annotation.
+          if grep -q "<!-- lastPublished:" "$MODULE/pom.xml"; then
+            sed -i "s|<!-- lastPublished:.*-->|<!-- lastPublished: ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION} (auto-updated by release.yml) -->|" "$MODULE/pom.xml"
+            git add "$MODULE/pom.xml"
+          else
+            echo "::notice::$MODULE has no lastPublished comment; skipping annotation"
+          fi
+
+          # (2) Parent version map — keyed only for modules other modules depend on.
+          case "$MODULE" in
+            aws-lambda-java-core)          PROP=lambda.core.version ;;
+            aws-lambda-java-events)        PROP=lambda.events.version ;;
+            aws-lambda-java-serialization) PROP=lambda.serialization.version ;;
+            *)                             PROP="" ;;
+          esac
+          if [ -n "$PROP" ]; then
+            PROP_RE="${PROP//./\\.}"
+            sed -i.bak -E "s|(<${PROP_RE}>)[^<]*(</${PROP_RE}>)|\1${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}\2|" pom.xml
+            rm -f pom.xml.bak
+            git add pom.xml
+          else
+            echo "::notice::$MODULE has no internal consumers; version map unchanged"
+          fi
+
+          # One commit for both records, or nothing if neither changed.
+          if git diff --cached --quiet; then
+            echo "::notice::$MODULE already recorded at ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}; nothing to commit"
+          else
+            git commit -m "chore(release): record ${MODULE} ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION} (lastPublished + version map)"
+          fi
+
+      # Prepend the changelog entry so it ships in the version-bump PR. Passed
+      # via env, never interpolated into the script, so it can't inject shell.
+      - name: Prepend changelog entry
+        if: ${{ github.event.inputs.skip_publish != 'true' }}
+        run: |
+          CHANGELOG="$MODULE/RELEASE.CHANGELOG.md"
+          TMP="$(mktemp)"
+          {
+            echo "### $(date +'%B %d, %Y')"
+            echo "\`${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}\`:"
+            printf '%s\n\n' "$CHANGELOG_ENTRY_INPUT"
+            [ -f "$CHANGELOG" ] && cat "$CHANGELOG"
+          } > "$TMP"
+          mv "$TMP" "$CHANGELOG"
+          git add "$CHANGELOG"
+          git commit -m "docs(release): add ${MODULE} ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION} changelog entry"
+
       # main is protected (no direct push), so push the tag and open a PR for
       # the version-bump commits instead. Skipping this would leave the POM on
       # the just-released -SNAPSHOT.
@@ -273,6 +336,22 @@ jobs:
             --title "chore(release): ${MODULE} ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}" \
             --body "Post-release version bump for ${MODULE} ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION} (already on Maven Central, tag ${TAG} pushed)."
 
+      # GitHub Release on the pushed tag: changelog entry + Central link.
+      - name: Create GitHub Release
+        if: ${{ github.event.inputs.skip_publish != 'true' }}
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        run: |
+          TAG="${MODULE}-${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}"
+          NOTES="$(mktemp)"
+          {
+            printf '%s\n\n' "$CHANGELOG_ENTRY_INPUT"
+            echo "Published to Maven Central: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.amazonaws/${MODULE}/${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}"
+          } > "$NOTES"
+          gh release create "$TAG" \
+            --title "${MODULE} ${EFFECTIVE_RELEASE_VERSION}" \
+            --notes-file "$NOTES"
+
       - name: Dry-run release (prepare only, no publish)
         if: ${{ github.event.inputs.skip_publish == 'true' }}
         run: |
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5a277e5d..5e4d8c8c 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -39,3 +39,7 @@ experimental/aws-lambda-java-profiler/integration_tests/helloworld/bin
 .kiro
 build
 mise.toml
+
+# flatten-maven-plugin generates this self-contained POM at build time; it is
+# published in place of the raw module POM and must never be committed.
+.flattened-pom.xml
diff --git a/RELEASING.md b/RELEASING.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6b453a08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/RELEASING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Releasing to Maven Central
+
+How maintainers publish a module using the
+[`Release to Maven Central`](.github/workflows/release.yml) workflow.
+
+Releasable modules: `aws-lambda-java-core`, `aws-lambda-java-events`,
+`aws-lambda-java-events-sdk-transformer`, `aws-lambda-java-log4j2`,
+`aws-lambda-java-serialization`, `aws-lambda-java-tests`.
+
+> `aws-lambda-java-runtime-interface-client` has its own pipeline,
+> [`release-runtime-interface-client.yml`](.github/workflows/release-runtime-interface-client.yml).
+
+## Cutting a release
+
+1. **Actions → Release to Maven Central → Run workflow**, with the branch set to
+   **`main`** (releases only run from `main`).
+2. Fill in the inputs:
+
+   | Input | Required | Notes |
+   |-------|----------|-------|
+   | `module` | yes | Module directory to release. |
+   | `changelogEntry` | yes | Markdown bullets, e.g. `- Fix X`. Added to the module `RELEASE.CHANGELOG.md` and used as the GitHub Release notes. |
+   | `releaseVersion` | no | Defaults to the POM version without `-SNAPSHOT`. |
+   | `developmentVersion` | no | Next dev version; must end with `-SNAPSHOT`. |
+   | `skip_publish` | no | Dry run: build and validate, publish nothing. |
+
+3. Run it and approve the `Release` environment when prompted.
+
+## What it does
+
+1. Validates the branch and resolves the release version from the POM (or your override).
+2. Builds and tests the module.
+3. Publishes to Maven Central and pushes the tag `<module>-<version>`.
+4. Opens a **version-bump PR** into `main` with the next `-SNAPSHOT`, the updated
+   `lastPublished` comment, the parent POM's version-map entry (for modules other
+   modules depend on: core, events, serialization), and your changelog entry.
+5. Creates a GitHub Release on the tag from your changelog entry.
+
+Merge the version-bump PR to return `main` to a clean `-SNAPSHOT` state.
+
+## Dry runs
+
+Set `skip_publish` to build, test, and `release:prepare -DdryRun=true` without
+pushing anything. A `changelogEntry` is still required by the form but unused.
+
+## If a release fails
+
+- **Before publish:** nothing was pushed. Fix and re-run.
+- **After publish:** the Central version is immutable and the tag exists. Don't
+  re-run for the same version (it fails at `release:prepare`); finish the
+  remaining steps by hand (merge the bump PR, or `gh release create`).
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-core/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-core/pom.xml
index 7cfba2b8..a71dd719 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-core/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-core/pom.xml
@@ -3,9 +3,17 @@
   xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+    <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+    <version>1.0.0</version>
+    <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+  </parent>
+
   <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
   <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-core</artifactId>
   <version>1.4.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  <!-- lastPublished: 1.4.0 (auto-updated by release.yml) -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
   
   <name>AWS Lambda Java Core Library</name>
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-events-sdk-transformer/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-events-sdk-transformer/pom.xml
index 4776aabc..5248ac57 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-events-sdk-transformer/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-events-sdk-transformer/pom.xml
@@ -3,9 +3,16 @@
   xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
-  <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+    <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+    <version>1.0.0</version>
+    <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+  </parent>
+
   <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-events-sdk-transformer</artifactId>
   <version>3.1.2-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  <!-- lastPublished: 3.1.1 (auto-updated by release.yml) -->
   <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
   <name>AWS Lambda Java Events SDK Transformer Library</name>
@@ -68,7 +75,7 @@
     <dependency>
       <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
       <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-events</artifactId>
-      <version>3.16.1</version>
+      <!-- version managed by parent -->
       <scope>provided</scope>
     </dependency>
 
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-events/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-events/pom.xml
index 3bef204f..9103fbbc 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-events/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-events/pom.xml
@@ -3,9 +3,17 @@
     xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+        <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>1.0.0</version>
+        <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+    </parent>
+
     <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
     <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-events</artifactId>
     <version>3.16.2-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <!-- lastPublished: 3.16.1 (auto-updated by release.yml) -->
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>AWS Lambda Java Events Library</name>
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-log4j2/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-log4j2/pom.xml
index af39b277..1f09b3db 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-log4j2/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-log4j2/pom.xml
@@ -1,9 +1,16 @@
 <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
-    <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+        <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>1.0.0</version>
+        <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+    </parent>
+
     <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-log4j2</artifactId>
     <version>1.6.6-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <!-- lastPublished: 1.6.5 (auto-updated by release.yml) -->
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>AWS Lambda Java Log4j 2.x Libraries</name>
@@ -50,7 +57,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
             <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-core</artifactId>
-            <version>1.2.3</version>
+            <!-- version managed by parent (was 1.2.3) -->
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.apache.logging.log4j</groupId>
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-runtime-interface-client/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-runtime-interface-client/pom.xml
index 6db41aa3..7d8b7d53 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-runtime-interface-client/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-runtime-interface-client/pom.xml
@@ -2,7 +2,14 @@
     xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
     xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
-    <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+        <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>1.0.0</version>
+        <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+    </parent>
+
     <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-runtime-interface-client</artifactId>
     <version>2.12.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
@@ -65,12 +72,12 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
             <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-core</artifactId>
-            <version>1.4.0</version>
+            <!-- version managed by parent -->
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
             <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-serialization</artifactId>
-            <version>1.4.1</version>
+            <!-- version managed by parent -->
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-serialization/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-serialization/pom.xml
index c9285672..40981c0e 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-serialization/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-serialization/pom.xml
@@ -2,9 +2,17 @@
     xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+        <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>1.0.0</version>
+        <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+    </parent>
+
     <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
     <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-serialization</artifactId>
     <version>1.4.2-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <!-- lastPublished: 1.4.1 (auto-updated by release.yml) -->
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>AWS Lambda Java Runtime Serialization</name>
diff --git a/aws-lambda-java-tests/pom.xml b/aws-lambda-java-tests/pom.xml
index bb0c7ab7..dbe8d08f 100644
--- a/aws-lambda-java-tests/pom.xml
+++ b/aws-lambda-java-tests/pom.xml
@@ -3,9 +3,16 @@
     xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
-    <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+    <parent>
+        <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+        <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+        <version>1.0.0</version>
+        <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
+    </parent>
+
     <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-tests</artifactId>
     <version>1.1.3-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <!-- lastPublished: 1.1.2 (auto-updated by release.yml) -->
     <packaging>jar</packaging>
 
     <name>AWS Lambda Java Tests</name>
@@ -43,8 +50,7 @@
         -->
         <junit.version>5.9.2</junit.version>
         <jacoco.maven.plugin.version>0.8.7</jacoco.maven.plugin.version>
-        <aws-lambda-java-serialization.version>1.4.1</aws-lambda-java-serialization.version>
-        <aws-lambda-java-events.version>3.16.1</aws-lambda-java-events.version>
+        <!-- serialization / events versions come from the parent version map. -->
         <commons-lang3.version>3.18.0</commons-lang3.version>
         <assertj-core.version>3.27.7</assertj-core.version>
     </properties>
@@ -53,12 +59,10 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
             <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-serialization</artifactId>
-            <version>${aws-lambda-java-serialization.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
             <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-events</artifactId>
-            <version>${aws-lambda-java-events.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b2be2f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+    xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+    <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-libs-parent</artifactId>
+    <!-- Non-SNAPSHOT so release:prepare accepts it; never published. -->
+    <version>1.0.0</version>
+    <packaging>pom</packaging>
+
+    <name>AWS Lambda Java Libs Parent</name>
+    <description>
+        Build-time-only parent that centralizes internal module versions.
+    </description>
+    <url>https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/</url>
+    <licenses>
+        <license>
+            <name>Apache License, Version 2.0</name>
+            <url>https://aws.amazon.com/apache2.0</url>
+            <distribution>repo</distribution>
+        </license>
+    </licenses>
+    <scm>
+        <url>https://github.com/aws/aws-lambda-java-libs.git</url>
+        <connection>scm:git:https://github.com/aws/aws-lambda-java-libs.git</connection>
+        <developerConnection>scm:git:https://github.com/aws/aws-lambda-java-libs.git</developerConnection>
+        <tag>HEAD</tag>
+    </scm>
+    <developers>
+        <developer>
+            <name>AWS Lambda team</name>
+            <organization>Amazon Web Services</organization>
+            <organizationUrl>https://aws.amazon.com/</organizationUrl>
+        </developer>
+    </developers>
+
+    <!-- Version map: one version per artifact. -->
+    <properties>
+        <lambda.core.version>1.4.0</lambda.core.version>
+        <lambda.events.version>3.16.1</lambda.events.version>
+        <lambda.serialization.version>1.4.1</lambda.serialization.version>
+    </properties>
+
+    <dependencyManagement>
+        <dependencies>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+                <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-core</artifactId>
+                <version>${lambda.core.version}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+                <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-events</artifactId>
+                <version>${lambda.events.version}</version>
+            </dependency>
+            <dependency>
+                <groupId>com.amazonaws</groupId>
+                <artifactId>aws-lambda-java-serialization</artifactId>
+                <version>${lambda.serialization.version}</version>
+            </dependency>
+        </dependencies>
+    </dependencyManagement>
+
+    <!-- Flatten each child's POM: strip the parent and inline versions, so this
+         parent never needs publishing. -->
+    <build>
+        <plugins>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
+                <artifactId>flatten-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>1.6.0</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <flattenMode>ossrh</flattenMode>
+                    <updatePomFile>true</updatePomFile>
+                </configuration>
+                <executions>
+                    <execution>
+                        <id>flatten</id>
+                        <phase>process-resources</phase>
+                        <goals>
+                            <goal>flatten</goal>
+                        </goals>
+                    </execution>
+                    <execution>
+                        <id>flatten-clean</id>
+                        <phase>clean</phase>
+                        <goals>
+                            <goal>clean</goal>
+                        </goals>
+                    </execution>
+                </executions>
+            </plugin>
+        </plugins>
+    </build>
+</project>