diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 8e98c72..100d0da 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 from setuptools import setup, find_packages
 from os import path
 from zttf import __version__
+import io
 
 
 here = path.abspath(path.dirname(__file__))
 
 # Get the long description from the relevant file
-with open(path.join(here, 'README.md'), encoding='utf-8') as f:
+with io.open(path.join(here, 'README.md'), encoding='utf-8') as f:
     long_description = f.read()