diff --git a/src/bcf/bcf/v2/topic.py b/src/bcf/bcf/v2/topic.py
index 7ea1c89772..7ee4c50b60 100644
--- a/src/bcf/bcf/v2/topic.py
+++ b/src/bcf/bcf/v2/topic.py
@@ -192,6 +192,8 @@ class TopicHandler:
             bcf_zip: The BCF zip file to save to.
         """
         topic_dir = self.guid
+        # simulating directory creation (ZipFile in python < 3.11 doesn't have mkdir)
+        destination_zip.writestr(f"{topic_dir}/", "")
         self._save_xml(destination_zip, self._markup, "markup.bcf")
         self._save_viewpoints(destination_zip, topic_dir)
         self._save_bim_snippet(destination_zip)
diff --git a/src/bcf/bcf/v3/topic.py b/src/bcf/bcf/v3/topic.py
index 38fea3de7e..04753c006e 100644
--- a/src/bcf/bcf/v3/topic.py
+++ b/src/bcf/bcf/v3/topic.py
@@ -179,6 +179,8 @@ class TopicHandler:
             bcf_zip: The BCF zip file to save to.
         """
         topic_dir = self.guid
+        # simulating directory creation (ZipFile in python < 3.11 doesn't have mkdir)
+        destination_zip.writestr(f"{topic_dir}/", "")
         self._save_xml(destination_zip, self._markup, "markup.bcf")
         self._save_viewpoints(destination_zip, topic_dir)
         self._save_bim_snippet(destination_zip)