Wrighthome

This is just not true. Job applicants in English stand very little chance without journal publications on their CVs when they apply for jobs. And the best way to tell if an English PhD is capable of publishing a book is whether they've been able to publish an article-length selection of their dissertation in a reputable journal. The two things are connected. A peer-reviewed article in a top journal is evidence that your scholarship is groundbreaking and original enough to publishable. Again, this seems mostly speculative. I have a hard time recalling anyone I know who has several "marvelous articles" in top journals but can't pull themselves together to publish their dissertation as a book. The two things are connected. Someone who can publish in top journals is already producing quality scholarship. Almost invariably they have honed the skills they need to turn their dissertation into a book. The articles are evidence that they are prepared to write a book-length monograph (I assume that's what you meant instead of "monologue"--a monologue is a long speech FYI). And if someone has a hard time securing a TT job despite several well-regarded articles, the reason is likely because there are no jobs--not because that person is an immature scholar who can only write articles.