diff --git a/md_pdf/cli.py b/md_pdf/cli.py
index ccc136c..4b7dec6 100644
--- a/md_pdf/cli.py
+++ b/md_pdf/cli.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 from md_pdf.args import parse_args
-from md_pdf.exceptions import PrematureExit, BaseException
+from md_pdf.exceptions import BaseException
 from md_pdf.logging import set_verbosity
 from md_pdf.build import build
 from md_pdf.config.read import load_config
diff --git a/md_pdf/config/validate.py b/md_pdf/config/validate.py
index 3a66882..a9d5623 100644
--- a/md_pdf/config/validate.py
+++ b/md_pdf/config/validate.py
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ def check_required_keys(config):
 def test_output(config):
     abs_output_dir = os.path.abspath(config['output_dir'])
     if not os.path.isdir(abs_output_dir):
-        raise ConfigValidationException("Can't find output directory '{}'".format(abs_output_dir))
+        logger.debug("Creating output directory...")
+        os.mkdir(abs_output_dir)
     invalid_formats = [key for key in config['output_formats'] if key not in ['html', 'pdf']]
     if invalid_formats:
         raise ConfigValidationException("Invalid output formats provided: '{}'".format(", ".join(invalid_formats)))