Eric Hill (Author, Illustrator) Eric Hill (1927-2014) started his artistic career as an art studio messenger and from there went on to become a cartoonist and eventually an art director at a leading advertising agency. In 1978 Eric made up a story about a small puppy to read to his son at bedtime and Spot was born. The success of his first bestselling lift-the-flap classic Where's Spot? in 1980 convinced him to become a full-time author, and his Spot books have been enjoyed by children around the world ever since. In 2008 he was awarded an OBE for services to children's literacy.