diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index dd9a96e..63b3d1a 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ def __init__(self, path):
     def visit_Assign(self, node):
         if any(target.id == 'VERSION' for target in node.targets):
             assert not hasattr(self, 'VERSION')
-            self.VERSION = node.value.s
+            self.VERSION = node.value.value
 
 this_directory = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
 with open(os.path.join(this_directory, 'README.rst')) as f: