diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+Copyright (c) 2014, Tobias Dammers
+
+All rights reserved.
+
+Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
+
+    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+      notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+
+    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+      copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
+      disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
+      with the distribution.
+
+    * Neither the name of Tobias Dammers nor the names of other
+      contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
+      from this software without specific prior written permission.
+
+THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
+DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
+THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
+OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
diff --git a/Setup.hs b/Setup.hs
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/Setup.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+import Distribution.Simple
+main = defaultMain
diff --git a/Text/StringConvert.hs b/Text/StringConvert.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Text/StringConvert.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+-- | Provides universal conversions between any two string-like types.
+-- Out-of-the-box, @Text@ (both lazy and strict), @ByteString@ (both lazy and
+-- strict), and String, are supported.
+--
+-- To hook custom string types into the conversion mechanism, implement both
+-- @FromString@ and @ToString@ for your type, and optionally provide special
+-- cases for conversions to and from some other string-like type by
+-- implementing @StringConvert@ directly.
+{-#LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
+{-#LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+module Text.StringConvert
+( FromString
+, fromString
+, ToString
+, toString
+, StringConvert
+, s
+)
+where
+
+import qualified Data.Text as Text
+import qualified Data.Text.Lazy as LText
+import qualified Data.ByteString.UTF8 as UTF8
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.UTF8 as LUTF8
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
+
+class FromString a where
+    fromString :: String -> a
+
+instance FromString [Char] where
+    fromString = id
+
+instance FromString Text.Text where
+    fromString = Text.pack
+
+instance FromString LText.Text where
+    fromString = LText.pack
+
+instance FromString UTF8.ByteString where
+    fromString = UTF8.fromString
+
+instance FromString LUTF8.ByteString where
+    fromString = LUTF8.fromString
+
+-- | Defines how a given type should be converted to String.
+-- If at all possible, the conversion should be loss-less, and if encodings are
+-- involved, UTF-8 should be the default.
+class ToString a where
+    toString :: a -> String
+
+instance ToString [Char] where
+    toString = id
+
+instance ToString LText.Text where
+    toString = LText.unpack
+
+instance ToString Text.Text where
+    toString = Text.unpack
+
+instance ToString UTF8.ByteString where
+    toString = UTF8.toString
+
+
+-- | Defines conversions between two given stringish types.
+class StringConvert a b where
+    s :: a -> b
+
+instance (ToString a, FromString b) => StringConvert a b where
+    s = fromString . toString
+
+instance StringConvert Text.Text LText.Text where
+    s = LText.fromStrict
+
+instance StringConvert LText.Text Text.Text where
+    s = LText.toStrict
+
+instance StringConvert UTF8.ByteString LUTF8.ByteString where
+    s = LBS.fromStrict
+
+instance StringConvert LUTF8.ByteString UTF8.ByteString where
+    s = LBS.toStrict
diff --git a/string-convert.cabal b/string-convert.cabal
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/string-convert.cabal
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+-- Initial string-convert.cabal generated by cabal init.  For further 
+-- documentation, see http://haskell.org/cabal/users-guide/
+
+name:                string-convert
+version:             0.1.0.0
+synopsis:            Provide universal string conversions between any two string-like types
+-- description:         
+homepage:            https://bitbucket.org/tdammers/string-convert
+license:             BSD3
+license-file:        LICENSE
+author:              Tobias Dammers
+maintainer:          tdammers@gmail.com
+-- copyright:           
+category:            Text
+build-type:          Simple
+-- extra-source-files:  
+cabal-version:       >=1.10
+
+library
+  exposed-modules:     Text.StringConvert
+  -- other-modules:       
+  -- other-extensions:    
+  build-depends: base >=4.5 && <4.7
+               , bytestring
+               , text
+               , utf8-string
+  -- hs-source-dirs:      
+  default-language:    Haskell2010