diff --git a/setuptools_markdown.py b/setuptools_markdown.py
index 3184b2b..9780c8a 100644
--- a/setuptools_markdown.py
+++ b/setuptools_markdown.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def long_description_markdown_filename(dist, attr, value):
     markdown_filename = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(setup_py_path), value)
     logger.debug('markdown_filename = %r', markdown_filename)
     try:
-        output = pypandoc.convert(markdown_filename, 'rst', format='md')
+        output = pypandoc.convert_text(markdown_filename, 'rst', format='md')
     except OSError:
         output = open(markdown_filename).read()
     lines = output.strip().splitlines()