diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index bfdc3a37a4b..28f8d0ae189 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -225,6 +225,9 @@ Core and Builtins
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #11321: Fix a crash with multiple imports of the _pickle module when
+  embedding Python.  Patch by Andreas Stührk.
+
 - Issue #6755: Add get_wch() method to curses.window class. Patch by Iñigo
   Serna.
 
diff --git a/Modules/_pickle.c b/Modules/_pickle.c
index 822d03c49af..06bce1e6e33 100644
--- a/Modules/_pickle.c
+++ b/Modules/_pickle.c
@@ -6338,8 +6338,10 @@ PyInit__pickle(void)
     if (m == NULL)
         return NULL;
 
+    Py_INCREF(&Pickler_Type);
     if (PyModule_AddObject(m, "Pickler", (PyObject *)&Pickler_Type) < 0)
         return NULL;
+    Py_INCREF(&Unpickler_Type);
     if (PyModule_AddObject(m, "Unpickler", (PyObject *)&Unpickler_Type) < 0)
         return NULL;