diff --git a/nbconvert/utils/console.py b/nbconvert/utils/console.py
index 2c5b125..c27512b 100644
--- a/nbconvert/utils/console.py
+++ b/nbconvert/utils/console.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def input(prompt_text):
     if majorversion >= 3:
         return input(prompt_text) 
     else:
-        return raw_input(prompt_text)
+        return raw_input(prompt_text).decode(sys.stdin.encoding)
 
     
 def prompt_boolean(prompt, default=False):