diff --git a/.github/workflows/production.yml b/.github/workflows/production.yml
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+## Author: Alper Sarikaya
+## Last modified: 2020-02-09 🎂
+## This script should be run only when a released is published *for the current year*.
+## 
+## This action will build the entire site from scratch, taking ALL commits from *other*
+##   branches as production-ready, and only checking out the current year's branch up to
+##   the tagged release SHA.
+##
+## NOTE: only create releases on the latest branch (currently: vis2020).
+##       e.g., `git checkout {sha}`, `git tag -a v2020.1.1 -m "v2020.1.1"`, 
+##             `git push --tags`, and then create a release in GitHub from that tag.
+##             
+##
+## This script is based on staging.yml.  The only differences: 
+## * the triggers are published releases, not any push to the repository
+## * the initial checkout also gets available tags
+## * the `release` event's tag is used to check out the current branch 
+##   (disregarding any commits made after the release was created)
+## * the script deploys to production instead of staging
+
+## TODO: note last step still deploys to staging; currently verifying script works...
+
+name: deploy production on release
+
+on:
+  release:
+    # deploy production whenever someone publishes a release on the current year's branch.
+    types: 
+      - published
+    
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+    ## SET UP STEPS
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v2
+    - name: Get all branches+tags and checkout master
+      run: |
+        git fetch --tags --prune --depth=1 origin +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
+        git checkout master
+    - name: Set up Python 2.7.x
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v1
+      with:
+        python-version: '2.x'
+    - name: Install python dependencies
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+        pip install -r scripts/requirements.txt
+    - name: Install Ruby 2.6.x
+      uses: actions/setup-ruby@v1
+      with:
+        ruby-version: '2.6.x'
+    - name: Install ruby dependencies
+      run: |
+        gem install bundler
+        gem install jekyll
+    - name: Set up AWS credentials (+ set default user)
+      run: |
+        mkdir -p ~/.aws
+        touch ~/.aws/credentials
+        echo "[default]
+        aws_access_key_id =  ${{ secrets.aws_deploy_key_id }}
+        aws_secret_access_key =  ${{ secrets.aws_secret_access_key }}" > ~/.aws/credentials
+      ## SET IEEEVIS_AWS_USER environment variable to "default" in deploy step
+  
+    ## BUILD ARCHIVE YEARS (2018 and before)
+    - name: Build archive years
+      run: make site
+      
+    ## BUILD LAST YEAR (currently: vis2019)
+    - name: Build last year (2019)
+      run: |
+        git checkout vis2019
+        make new2019
+        
+    ## BUILD THIS YEAR (currently: vis2020)
+    ## ./scripts/fix_file_extensions.sh moves some evergreen content from current year
+    ##    ∟ also only check out the tag linked to the triggering event
+    - name: Build this year (2020) + deploy
+      env:
+        IEEEVIS_AWS_USER: default
+      run: |
+        git checkout ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
+        make staging2020
+      
+