diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 102eb2b8..d936265b 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
         version='0.0.2',
         description='utilities for working with the NIF ontology, SciGraph, and turtle',
         long_description=long_description,
+        long_description_content_type='text/markdown',
         url='https://github.com/tgbugs/pyontutils',
         author='Tom Gillespie',
         author_email='tgbugs@gmail.com',