This Element serves as a welcome to the Cambridge Elements Genetics in Epilepsy series. The series editors look forward to sharing with you the story of epilepsy genetics through a series of Elements. They will bring together many voices, by text as well as video, to illustrate the history of epilepsy genetics, the many on-going efforts in the field, and how they hope to address the still unanswered questions that command the attention of all of us and our colleagues across the globe.