Peter Benchley was born in New York City in 1940 and was the son of novelist Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of humorist Robert Benchley. He worked as a reporter for the Washington Post, as associate editor of Newsweek and as a speech-writer for the late President Johnson. His stories and articles appeared in numerous magazine including the New Yorker and National Geographic.

Jaws was his first novel, his previous two books being a story for children and a book based on his trip round the world. Peter Benchley died in 2006.