diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 1307356..eb40127 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 import sys, os
 
 here = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
-README = open(os.path.join(here, 'README.rst')).read()
-NEWS = open(os.path.join(here, 'NEWS.txt')).read()
+README = open(os.path.join(here, 'README.rst'), 'r', encoding='utf-8').read()
+NEWS = open(os.path.join(here, 'NEWS.txt'), 'r', encoding='utf-8').read()
 
 
 version = '0.1.dev'