diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 3416881..cc93d8e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 Changelog
 =========
 
+Version 2.1.0 (29-04-2018)
+-----------------------------------------------------------
+
+*   Updating to support Channels 2.1.0 and the upcoming
+    ASGI spec changes (run application initialization in a thread)
+
 Version 2.0.1 (27-04-2018)
 -----------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/txasgiresource/__init__.py b/txasgiresource/__init__.py
index 8e418bc..2a2fa18 100644
--- a/txasgiresource/__init__.py
+++ b/txasgiresource/__init__.py
@@ -9,4 +9,4 @@
 except ImportError:
     pass
 
-__version__ = '2.0.1'
+__version__ = '2.1.0'
diff --git a/txasgiresource/application.py b/txasgiresource/application.py
index bea3fd2..ccd5ee5 100644
--- a/txasgiresource/application.py
+++ b/txasgiresource/application.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import asyncio
 from concurrent.futures import CancelledError
 
-from twisted.internet import defer
+from twisted.internet import defer, threads
 
 
 class ApplicationManager:
@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@ def stop(self):
             except CancelledError:
                 pass
 
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def create_application_instance(self, protocol, scope):
         async def handle_reply(msg):
             protocol.handle_reply(msg)
 
-        application_instance = self.application(scope)
+        application_instance = yield threads.deferToThread(self.application, scope)
         queue = asyncio.Queue()
 
         self.application_instances[protocol] = asyncio.ensure_future(
diff --git a/txasgiresource/http.py b/txasgiresource/http.py
index 1774551..2f2d4ee 100644
--- a/txasgiresource/http.py
+++ b/txasgiresource/http.py
@@ -113,7 +113,8 @@ def handle_reply(self, msg):
         self.reply_defer = defer.Deferred()
         d.callback(msg)
 
-    def render(self, request):
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _render(self, request):
         self.request = request
 
         scope = dict(self.base_scope)
@@ -122,10 +123,13 @@ def render(self, request):
         scope['scheme'] = 'http%s' % (scope.pop('_ssl'))
         scope['method'] = request.method.decode('utf8')
 
-        self.queue = self.application.create_application_instance(self, scope)
+        self.queue = yield self.application.create_application_instance(self, scope)
 
         self.send_request_to_application(request, request.content)
 
+    def render(self, request):
+        self._render(request)
+
         return server.NOT_DONE_YET
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
diff --git a/txasgiresource/ws.py b/txasgiresource/ws.py
index dcd75d6..ae18ced 100644
--- a/txasgiresource/ws.py
+++ b/txasgiresource/ws.py
@@ -14,19 +14,15 @@ class ASGIWebSocketServerProtocol(WebSocketServerProtocol, policies.TimeoutMixin
     accept_promise = None
     queue = None
 
-    def onConnect(self, request):
-        self.request = request
-        self.setTimeout(self.factory.idle_timeout)
-        self.accept_promise = defer.Deferred()
-        self.reply_defer = defer.Deferred()
-
+    @defer.inlineCallbacks
+    def _onConnect(self, request):
         scope = dict(self.factory.base_scope)
         scope['type'] = 'websocket'
         scope['scheme'] = 'ws%s' % (scope.pop('_ssl'))
-        # # TODO: add subprotocols
+        # TODO: add subprotocols
 
         try:
-            self.queue = self.factory.application.create_application_instance(self, scope)
+            self.queue = yield self.factory.application.create_application_instance(self, scope)
             self.opened = True
         except Exception as e:
             logger.exception('Failed to create application')
@@ -36,6 +32,14 @@ def onConnect(self, request):
 
         self.send_replies()
 
+    def onConnect(self, request):
+        self.request = request
+        self.setTimeout(self.factory.idle_timeout)
+        self.accept_promise = defer.Deferred()
+        self.reply_defer = defer.Deferred()
+
+        self._onConnect(request)
+
         return self.accept_promise
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks