diff --git a/microbiorust-py/microbiorust/__init__.py b/microbiorust-py/microbiorust/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c19da46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/microbiorust-py/microbiorust/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# microbiorust/__init__.py
+from .microbiorust import *
+
+__all__ = list(globals().keys())
+
+try:
+    from . import microbiorust as _base
+    
+    #list of submodules importable
+    submodules = ["gbk", "embl", "align", "seqmetrics"]
+
+    for sub_name in submodules:
+        #get the submodule from the base binary
+        sub_module = getattr(_base, sub_name, None)
+        
+        if sub_module:
+            #making the submodule available: microbiorust.gbk
+            globals()[sub_name] = sub_module
+            __all__.append(sub_name)
+            
+            #make functions available at top level: microbiorust.gbk_to_faa()
+            for func_name in dir(sub_module):
+                if not func_name.startswith('_'):
+                    globals()[func_name] = getattr(sub_module, func_name)
+                    if func_name not in __all__:
+                        __all__.append(func_name)
+
+except (ImportError, AttributeError):
+    # This ensures the package still "exists" even if the binary 
+    # hasn't been compiled yet (useful during certain build steps)
+    pass
diff --git a/microbiorust-py/pyproject.toml b/microbiorust-py/pyproject.toml
index 53bc658..da61371 100644
--- a/microbiorust-py/pyproject.toml
+++ b/microbiorust-py/pyproject.toml
@@ -32,4 +32,5 @@ Repository = "https://github.com/microBioRust/microBioRust"
 manifest-path = "Cargo.toml"
 bindings = "pyo3"
 module-name = "microbiorust"
-features = ["pyo3/extension-module","pyo3/abi3-py310"]
+python-source = "."
+features = ["pyo3/extension-module", "pyo3/abi3-py310"]