diff --git a/fastapi_websocket_pubsub/event_broadcaster.py b/fastapi_websocket_pubsub/event_broadcaster.py
index 8e897e0..b3189e6 100644
--- a/fastapi_websocket_pubsub/event_broadcaster.py
+++ b/fastapi_websocket_pubsub/event_broadcaster.py
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ def __init__(self, broadcast_url: str, notifier: EventNotifier, channel="EventNo
         # The internal events notifier
         self._notifier = notifier
         self._is_publish_only = is_publish_only
-        self._publish_lock = asyncio.Lock()
+        self._publish_lock = None
         # used to track creation / removal of resources needed per type (reader task->listen, and subscription to internal events->share)
         self._listen_count: int = 0
         self._share_count: int = 0     
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ async def __broadcast_notifications__(self, subscription: Subscription, data):
                 await self._sharing_broadcast_channel.publish(self._channel, note.json())
 
     def _acquire_sharing_broadcast_channel(self):
+        """
+        Initialize the elements needed for sharing events with the broadcast channel
+        """
+        self._publish_lock = asyncio.Lock()
         self._sharing_broadcast_channel = self._broadcast_type(self._broadcast_url)
 
     async def _subscribe_to_all_topics(self):
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 81a1831..fcc8857 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ def get_requirements(env=""):
 
 setup(
     name='fastapi_websocket_pubsub',
-    version='0.1.17',
+    version='0.1.18',
     author='Or Weis',
     author_email="or@authorizon.com",
     description="A fast and durable PubSub channel over Websockets (using fastapi-websockets-rpc).",