diff --git a/lib/theme_template/theme.gemspec.erb b/lib/theme_template/theme.gemspec.erb
index dac6ed39..d403d674 100644
--- a/lib/theme_template/theme.gemspec.erb
+++ b/lib/theme_template/theme.gemspec.erb
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.homepage      = "TODO: Put your gem's website or public repo URL here."
   spec.license       = "MIT"
 
-  spec.files         = `git ls-files -z`.split("\x0").reject { |f| f.match(%r{^(<%= theme_directories.join("|") %>)/}) }
+  spec.files         = `git ls-files -z`.split("\x0").select { |f| f.match(%r{^(<%= theme_directories.join("|") %>|LICENSE|README)/i}) }
 
   spec.add_development_dependency "jekyll", "~> <%= jekyll_version_with_minor %>"
   spec.add_development_dependency "bundler", "~> 1.12"