diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index aa69e1e4b4..7c78811c05 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+2015-10-25  Titus Brown  <titus@idyll.org>
+
+   * scripts/normalize-by-median.py,tests/test_normalize_by_median.py: test
+   and fix for close of --output file after first input file.
+
 2015-10-05  Michael R. Crusoe  <crusoe@ucdavis.edu>
 
    * lib/magic: add file extensions, one media type, and a better comment
diff --git a/scripts/normalize-by-median.py b/scripts/normalize-by-median.py
index 9be0a138a3..49ddef4153 100755
--- a/scripts/normalize-by-median.py
+++ b/scripts/normalize-by-median.py
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@ def main():  # pylint: disable=too-many-branches,too-many-statements
                     write_record(record, outfp)
 
             log_info('output in {name}', name=describe_file_handle(outfp))
-            if not is_block(outfp):
+            if not args.single_output_file:
                 outfp.close()
 
     # finished - print out some diagnostics.
diff --git a/tests/test_normalize_by_median.py b/tests/test_normalize_by_median.py
index 6e78fb2e66..d8581403fb 100644
--- a/tests/test_normalize_by_median.py
+++ b/tests/test_normalize_by_median.py
@@ -847,3 +847,14 @@ def test_diginorm_basic_functionality_5():
                         'b/1', 'b/2',
                         'c/1', 'c/2',
                         'd/1', 'd/2']), seqs
+
+
+def test_normalize_by_median_outfile_closed_err():
+    infile1 = utils.get_test_data('paired-mixed.fa.pe')
+    infile2 = utils.get_test_data("test-abund-read-2.fa")
+    outfile = utils.get_temp_filename('outfile_xxx')
+    script = 'normalize-by-median.py'
+    args = ['-o', outfile, infile1, infile2]
+    (status, out, err) = utils.runscript(script, args)
+    assert status == 0, (out, err)
+    assert os.path.exists(outfile)