Peter Simpson Hedges is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He gained prominence with his novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed movie launching his film career.

In 2002, Hedges received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for About a Boy. In the same year, he wrote and directed Pieces of April, starring Katie Holmes, a project he dedicated to his mother.