diff --git a/mpicms/publications/migrations/0004_publication_sort_order.py b/mpicms/publications/migrations/0004_publication_sort_order.py
index f33e966..6c6d186 100644
--- a/mpicms/publications/migrations/0004_publication_sort_order.py
+++ b/mpicms/publications/migrations/0004_publication_sort_order.py
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-# Generated by Django 2.2.9 on 2020-01-19 19:36
-
 from django.db import migrations, models
 
+def init_sort_order(apps, schema_editor):
+    Publication = apps.get_model('publications', 'Publication')
+    for publication in Publication.objects.all():
+        publication.sort_order = -publication.pk
+        publication.save(update_fields=['sort_order'])
 
 class Migration(migrations.Migration):
 
@@ -15,4 +18,5 @@ class Migration(migrations.Migration):
             name='sort_order',
             field=models.IntegerField(blank=True, editable=False, null=True),
         ),
+        migrations.RunPython(init_sort_order, reverse_code=migrations.RunPython.noop),
     ]