diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index 4cb028a..6e801be 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
include setup.cfg .coveragerc tox.ini
-include TODO LICENSE.txt README.rst CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
+include TODO LICENSE.txt README.md CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
recursive-include tools *.py *.R
recursive-include doc *
prune doc/_build
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ff76ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+# Patsy
+
+**Notice:** `patsy` is no longer under active development. As of August 2021,
+Matthew Wardrop (@matthewwardrop) and Tomás Capretto (@tomicapretto) have taken
+on responsibility from Nathaniel Smith (@njsmith) for keeping the lights on, but
+no new feature development is planned. The spiritual successor of this project
+is [Formulaic](https://github.com/matthewwardrop/formulaic), and we
+recommend those interested in new feature development contribute there. Those
+whose use-cases continue to be met by `patsy` can continue using this package
+with increased confidence that things will continue to work as is for the
+foreseeable future.
+
+---
+
+Patsy is a Python library for describing statistical models
+(especially linear models, or models that have a linear component) and
+building design matrices. Patsy brings the convenience of [R](http://www.r-project.org/) "formulas" to Python.
+
+[](https://pypi.org/project/spec-classes/)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+- **Documentation:**
+- **Downloads:**
+- **Code and issues:**
+- **Mailing list:** ()
+
+
+## Dependencies
+
+ * Python (2.6, 2.7, or 3.3+)
+ * six
+ * numpy
+ * Optional:
+ * nose: needed to run tests
+ * scipy: needed for spline-related functions like ``bs``
+
+## Installation
+ ``pip install patsy`` (or, for traditionalists: ``python setup.py install``)
+
+## License
+
+2-clause BSD, see LICENSE.txt for details.
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 415943b..0000000
--- a/README.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-Patsy is a Python library for describing statistical models
-(especially linear models, or models that have a linear component) and
-building design matrices. Patsy brings the convenience of `R
-`_ "formulas" to Python.
-
-.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-read%20now-blue.svg
- :target: https://patsy.readthedocs.io/
- :alt: Documentation
-.. image:: https://travis-ci.org/pydata/patsy.png?branch=master
- :target: https://travis-ci.org/pydata/patsy
- :alt: Build status
-.. image:: https://coveralls.io/repos/pydata/patsy/badge.png?branch=master
- :target: https://coveralls.io/r/pydata/patsy?branch=master
- :alt: Coverage
-.. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.592075.svg
- :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.592075
- :alt: Zenodo
-
-Documentation:
- https://patsy.readthedocs.io/
-
-Downloads:
- http://pypi.python.org/pypi/patsy/
-
-Dependencies:
- * Python (2.6, 2.7, or 3.3+)
- * six
- * numpy
-
-Optional dependencies:
- * nose: needed to run tests
- * scipy: needed for spline-related functions like ``bs``
-
-Install:
- ``pip install patsy`` (or, for traditionalists: ``python setup.py install``)
-
-Code and bug tracker:
- https://github.com/pydata/patsy
-
-Mailing list:
- * pydata@googlegroups.com
- * http://groups.google.com/group/pydata
-
-License:
- 2-clause BSD, see LICENSE.txt for details.
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 3eef44e..1647775 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
DESC = ("A Python package for describing statistical models and for "
"building design matrices.")
-LONG_DESC = open("README.rst").read()
+LONG_DESC = open("README.md").read()
# defines __version__
exec(open("patsy/version.py").read())