diff --git a/.github/workflows/_build-wheel-release-upload.yml b/.github/workflows/_build-wheel-release-upload.yml
index 36d7e8f..21ab3e9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/_build-wheel-release-upload.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/_build-wheel-release-upload.yml
@@ -22,6 +22,11 @@ on:
         default: 0
         required: false
         type: number
+      release_branch:
+        description: 'Branch to release from. If not provided, will default to main'
+        default: main
+        required: true
+        type: string
     secrets:
       PYPI_TOKEN:
         description: 'PyPI token'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/_release-github.yml b/.github/workflows/_release-github.yml
index a448634..acfb622 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/_release-github.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/_release-github.yml
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: stefanzweifel/git-auto-commit-action@v5
         with:
           commit_message: update changelog
-          branch: main
+          branch: {{ inputs.release_branch }}
 
   release-delete-create-new-tag:
   # For a full release, we delete and create a new tag to reflect the latest changes in the CHANGELOG.rst.
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout the repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
-          ref: main
+          ref: {{ inputs.release_branch }}
       - name: Delete the local tag
         run: |
           git fetch --tags
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout the repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
-          ref: main
+          ref: {{ inputs.release_branch }}
       - name: Generate GH release notes for release
         run: |
           wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scikit-package/release-scripts/v0/.github/workflows/get-latest-changelog.py
diff --git a/.github/workflows/templates/check-news-item.yml b/.github/workflows/templates/check-news-item.yml
index 150aa53..2753481 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/templates/check-news-item.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/templates/check-news-item.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: Check for News
 on:
   pull_request_target:
     branches:
-      - main
+      - {{ inputs.release_branch }}
 
 jobs:
   check-news-item:
diff --git a/news/release-branch.rst b/news/release-branch.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f2f5aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/release-branch.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+**Added:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Changed:**
+
+* Make release branch an optional input for releases.
+
+**Deprecated:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Removed:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Fixed:**
+
+* <news item>
+
+**Security:**
+
+* <news item>