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 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.