diff --git a/src/biocommons/example/tests/conftest.py b/src/biocommons/example/tests/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31f4c0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/biocommons/example/tests/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import importlib
+
+import pytest
+import yaml
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def all_quotes():
+    quotes_stream = importlib.resources.files("example").joinpath("quotes.yaml").read_text()
+    return yaml.load(quotes_stream, Loader=yaml.SafeLoader)["quotes"]
diff --git a/src/biocommons/example/tests/marvin_subdir_test.py b/src/biocommons/example/tests/marvin_subdir_test.py
index 79c431a..0eeecdd 100644
--- a/src/biocommons/example/tests/marvin_subdir_test.py
+++ b/src/biocommons/example/tests/marvin_subdir_test.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 from ..marvin import get_quote
 
 
-def test_get_quote():
+def test_get_quote(all_quotes):
     """test get_quote"""
-    assert get_quote() is not None
+    # NB: all_quotes argument is a test fixture; see ./conftest.py
+    assert get_quote() in all_quotes