diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 04b2d40..8d45ac8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ All notable changes to WuttJamaican will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](http://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/)
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## v0.22.1 (2025-08-09)
+
+### Fix
+
+- delay import for orm, in case SA not installed
+
 ## v0.22.0 (2025-08-09)
 
 ### Feat
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 082971f..21e38f8 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "WuttJamaican"
-version = "0.22.0"
+version = "0.22.1"
 description = "Base package for Wutta Framework"
 readme = "README.md"
 authors = [{name = "Lance Edgar", email = "lance@wuttaproject.org"}]
diff --git a/src/wuttjamaican/auth.py b/src/wuttjamaican/auth.py
index 2f8abea..0643cff 100644
--- a/src/wuttjamaican/auth.py
+++ b/src/wuttjamaican/auth.py
@@ -29,8 +29,6 @@ This defines the default :term:`auth handler`.
 import secrets
 import uuid as _uuid
 
-from sqlalchemy import orm
-
 from wuttjamaican.app import GenericHandler
 
 
@@ -110,6 +108,8 @@ class AuthHandler(GenericHandler):
         :returns: :class:`~wuttjamaican.db.model.auth.User` instance,
            or ``None``.
         """
+        from sqlalchemy import orm
+
         model = self.app.model
 
         try: