diff --git a/python/src/cloudstorage/storage_api.py b/python/src/cloudstorage/storage_api.py
index 26254fd..abfa8f9 100644
--- a/python/src/cloudstorage/storage_api.py
+++ b/python/src/cloudstorage/storage_api.py
@@ -759,7 +759,9 @@ def write(self, data):
       TypeError: if data is not of type str.
     """
     self._check_open()
-    if not isinstance(data, str):
+    if isinstance(data, unicode):
+      data = data.encode('utf-8')
+    elif not isinstance(data, str):
       raise TypeError('Expected str but got %s.' % type(data))
     if not data:
       return