diff --git a/django_plotly_dash/__init__.py b/django_plotly_dash/__init__.py
index e9e95703..3f097d81 100644
--- a/django_plotly_dash/__init__.py
+++ b/django_plotly_dash/__init__.py
@@ -26,6 +26,6 @@
 SOFTWARE.
 '''
 
-__version__ = "0.9.4"
+from .version import __version__
 
 from .dash_wrapper import DjangoDash
diff --git a/django_plotly_dash/version.py b/django_plotly_dash/version.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..04c308e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/django_plotly_dash/version.py
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+'''
+Define version number for django-plotly-dash, in a form that can be used by setup.py without importing the package.
+
+This addresses issue #81
+'''
+
+__version__ = "0.9.4"
diff --git a/docs/development.rst b/docs/development.rst
index 4f575784..43288f82 100644
--- a/docs/development.rst
+++ b/docs/development.rst
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Release builds
 This section contains the recipe for building a release of the project.
 
 First, update the version number appropriately
-in ``django_plotly_dash/__init__.py``, and then
+in ``django_plotly_dash/version.py``, and then
 ensure that the checks and tests have been run::
 
   ./check_code
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ first a snapshot of the development environment used for the build should be gen
   pip freeze > frozen_dev.txt
 
   git add frozen_dev.txt
-  git add django_plotly_dash/__init__.py
+  git add django_plotly_dash/version.py
 
   git commit -m" ... suitable commit message for this release ..."
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 54b389fa..4f3e457f 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -2,16 +2,18 @@
 
 from setuptools import setup
 
-import django_plotly_dash as dpd
+#import django_plotly_dash as dpd
+#VERSION = dpd.__version__
 
-VERSION = dpd.__version__
+with open('django_plotly_dash/version.py') as f:
+    exec(f.read())
 
 with open('README.md') as f:
     long_description = f.read()
 
 setup(
     name="django-plotly-dash",
-    version=VERSION,
+    version=__version__,
     url="https://github.com/GibbsConsulting/django-plotly-dash",
     description="Django use of plotly dash apps through template tags",
     long_description=long_description,