diff --git a/src/api/python/pyproject.toml b/src/api/python/pyproject.toml
index c0edb4e67..1e23ff82b 100644
--- a/src/api/python/pyproject.toml
+++ b/src/api/python/pyproject.toml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ name = "z3-solver"
 description = "an efficient SMT solver library"
 readme = "README.txt"
 requires-python = ">=3.8"
-license = "MIT"
+license = {text = "MIT"}
 authors = [
     {name = "The Z3 Theorem Prover Project"}
 ]
diff --git a/src/api/python/setup.py b/src/api/python/setup.py
index 82ec7c102..a8f5419ce 100644
--- a/src/api/python/setup.py
+++ b/src/api/python/setup.py
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@ import glob
 from setuptools import setup
 from setuptools.command.build import build as _build
 from setuptools.command.sdist import sdist as _sdist
-from setuptools.command.bdist_wheel import bdist_wheel as _bdist_wheel
+try:
+    from wheel.bdist_wheel import bdist_wheel as _bdist_wheel
+except ImportError:
+    # wheel package not available, provide a dummy class
+    from setuptools.command.build import build as _bdist_wheel
 from setuptools.command.develop import develop as _develop
 
 class LibError(Exception):