Claire Houck (pen name Nina Waters; fandom name unforth) is an author, and the lead editor at and owner of Duck Prints Press, an independent micropress focused on publishing the works of LGBTQIA+ creators. Originally from New York City and now residing near Albany, Claire has a lifelong love of words, a preference for historical and speculative fiction, and the emotional baggage of having an English teacher for a parent. They have two children, a lovely wife, a dumb dog, and two anxiety potatoes (aka Guinea pigs).
Claire has published two short stories, in April Steenburg and C. Lennox's anthologies Fight Like a Girl (2013) and What Follows (2014). They self-published the novel A Glimmer of Hope (2016) and the novelette Puppetry (2021).
As lead editor of Duck Prints Press, Claire has edited over 200 stand-alone short stories, six novelettes (one forthcoming), three novellas, and numerous other works. Novels: Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley (2022); Hockey Bois by A. L. Heard (2022); and the Twinned trilogy by Tris Lawrence (2021-2026). Anthologies: Add Magic to Taste (2021); And Seek (Not) to Alter Me (2022); She Wears the Midnight Crown (2023); He Bears the Cape of Stars (2023); Aim For The Heart (2023); Aether Beyond the Binary (2024); Many Hands: An Anthology of Polyamorous Erotica (2024); A Truth Universally Acknowledged (2025); Scholarly Pursuits: A Queer Anthology of Cozy Academia Stories (2025); Monsterotica: Tales of Unusual Courtship and Coupling (2026); Wild and Full of Marvel (2026, forthcoming); Monster Smash: A Monsterotica Anthology (2026, forthcoming); and Beyond the Galactic Tide (2027). Before launching their own Press, Claire honed their skills as the writer on and editor of over $25 million in successful grants for the New York City Department of Education.